Finding One Another
by InuGirl1028
Summary: Erin and Nova have been on the run for years. They've hidden from dragon trappers who wanted Nova, a Night Fury, to themselves. They don't belong anywhere. But when they crash land on Berk and discover that Erin is the long lost twin sister of Hiccup, Erin and Nova find themselves with a family. Little do they know of the impending danger coming their way. (Leads into HTTYD2)
1. Nova and Erin

**Hey guys so a little background on the story: The story starts in late summer (August-Septemberish), and eventually leads into HTTYD2, which takes place during winter time. **

**Also, as of May 28, this chapter has been updated slightly. I wasn't too happy with the first go around so I made some changes. I'll be updating other chapters soon and posting new ones after that. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from HTTYD. I only own my OC's.**

All I could feel was the mind numbing cold. I felt the freezing wind constantly whipping at my face as we fell through the night sky. When we hit the water, the edges of my vision started to blacken. If I had any hope of surviving this, it was long gone now.

The freezing cold waters of the ocean swirled around me in torrents and waves, numbing my body to the point that I could not move a muscle. At this point, I started to panic. I struggled to calm myself down because I knew panicking in this situation would not make things any better.

I opened my eyes and searched the water. I found her about twenty feet from me. Nova, my dragon, was trying to swim towards me. It was hard to see her through the brackish water, but her eyes shone bright. I thanked the Gods that she was alright, and the last thing I remember was the blackness overcoming my vision.

When I came to be conscious, I opened my eyes slowly and saw the tops of tall pine trees above my head. My throat burned from the amount of sea water I probably drank, and my head was pounding. It was morning now, and the sun shone brightly around the small clearing I lay in. I felt the sunshine warming my body.

I cautiously turned my head in search of Nova. She was laying only a few feet from me on the mossy ground, looking at me with her big blue-green eyes.

When I tried to sit up in the small patch of soft grass, Nova was quick to get up and come closer to me. She licked my face lightly and I smiled and affectionately patted her raven scales.

"I'm alright, girl. I guess you're a faster swimming than I thought you were." I laughed a little and she nuzzled her large head against my chest. She made a deep rumbling noise when I scratched a certain part on her neck. I realized that if she hadn't of somehow rescued me from the perilous ocean, I would be dead by now. I wondered how far she must've swam or flown to get to this place. It made me all the more grateful that she was my best friend.

"I love you, Nova. I don't know what I'd do without you." She made the same rumbling noise and licked my face again. Before I knew it, she hastily jumped back, crouched down on her two front legs like a dog would before it plays, and she opened her mouth and let her tongue fall out.

I giggled at the sight, knowing she was now ready to play. Luckily for her, my head wasn't throbbing anymore.

I smiled at her and started to stand up, but immediately felt a searing pain in my right leg. I cried out and began to fall but Nova was there, steadying me with her head. I lowered down to the ground and felt around my leg. I winced when I put pressure on a certain spot and determined that my leg was most likely broken.

I took a deep breath and looked around at the clearing. There was a small tree a few feet from where I sat in the grass. I scooted over to it and rested my back against the trunk. From this point I could see the entire clearing. It made me feel safer than lying out in the open.

"Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while." I smirked at Nova and she made a scoffing noise. She moved closer and placed her head on my uninjured leg, and I affectionately massaged her scales and drew invisible shapes and words with my fingers.

I laid my head back against the tree truck and closed my eyes, wondering how in the world we were going to get out of here. I didn't even know where we were. We crash landed somewhere over the ocean, that much I knew.

Deciding on putting my plan of escape to rest for the moment, I started to hum a soft lullaby that I knew Nova enjoyed.

I was halfway through the short song when a voice caught my attention. My head snapped around to look across the clearing.

Nova heard it also, because her head picked up from my lap, and her eyes were on high alert. She must not have realized that this place was inhabited by people.

I tried my hardest not to make a sound as I stood up, supporting myself on the tree trunk. Nova made a sound of protest but I shook my head at her.

"Nova, go into the trees. If these are dragon hunters, they'll pay no mind to me if I'm alone. If they see you, they'll take you. My leg is broken so I can't defend us. Please, Nova. You have to stay safe." She gave me a worried look, so I kissed the top of her head for reassurance.

"I'll be fine, just go." She looked at me one last time before taking off and landing in a nearby tree. I knew that she'd stay hidden, but she'd stay close enough to watch and make sure I was safe.

I braced myself against the tree, waiting and watching to see if anyone would come into our little clearing.

When someone did, I pushed myself against the tree, trying to hide in the shadows. I reached behind me and rested my hand on the dagger that rested in the sheath on my leather belt. If the time came that I needed to throw it, then I would.

The person who entered the clearing was a boy, probably around nineteen or twenty. My age. He was tall, but he wasn't gangly. He was muscular and could probably take down a five foot five girl like me. He had black hair and even from the distance I was at, I could see his crystal blue eyes. His facial features were not intimidating…they held a softness that made him seem kind.

To my relief, his eyes passed right over me and I let out an inaudible sigh of relief. He didn't seem to have any weapons on him, save for the dagger attached to his belt. If he tried to come after me, my throwing knife would serve its purpose long before he could reach me.

What I wasn't prepared for though, was the dragon that came into the clearing a mere three feet from where he was standing. It was a Deadly Nadder.

I gasped a little bit and instantly regretted it. The dragon's head snapped up a little bit and it twitched from side to side, quite resembling a bird. I covered my hand with my mouth so as not to release anymore unwanted sounds.

I was so devastatingly scared in that moment, that I didn't even think to realize that the dragon hadn't made the slightest move towards the boy.

It almost looked…comfortable around him. I watched as the boy walked up to the dragon and rubbed its neck affectionately.

"What's the matter Cedric? Did you hear something?" He said it in a casual tone, as if he were talking to a friend.

My curiosity peaked at this point, overcoming my fear. People hated dragons. I was the only person to befriend one…wasn't I? My village thought of them only as pests, and we'd been on the run from dragon hunters for years. Not once had we ever found a place where dragons were accepted.

The Nadder let out a screech in my direction, and my heart sunk when I saw the boy looked in my direction and his eyes found mine. My heart raced and I began to think of several ways I could escape, but each was useless due to the fact that my leg was broken, and he had a dragon. I was backed into a corner with nowhere to go…

'_At least Nova can make it out of this.' _I thought.

The boy started to move towards me with a curious look on his face. Trying to protect myself from what he could possible do, I unsheathed my knife, holding it in front of me half an arms distance away.

I heard rustling in the trees and I shot a quick glance towards where I assumed Nova was. I shook my head ever so slightly, praying she wouldn't show herself.

When I turned my attention back to the boy, he was probably five feet in front of me. He had his hands up in front of him, signaling surrender.

"Whoa, hey. I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're worried about. You can put the knife away." He told me all of this in a cautious tone, one that was not at all threatening. He seemed sincere but I didn't buy it. His eyes searched mine, trying to decipher why I was in the woods alone.

"Who are you? Are you a dragon trapper?" My knife was still in the same position and my eyes never left his. I watched his expression go from concern to disbelief.

"A dragon trapper? No…I like to think of myself more of a dragon _trainer_." He said it with a small chuckle and looked back at his dragon. When he looked back at me, his face changed to concern. Something in my face must've alerted him to my fear because he backed away and stood next to his dragon.

"See? He's not being hunted. He trusts me." He patted the dragons back and it shook out its scales in response.

I lowered my dagger only a fraction of an inch. I didn't think it was possible. That anyone could be like me. Everyone I'd ever met either wanted dragons gone or dead. I wasn't about to lower my guard now.

"How do I know he's not your slave?" I asked, my voice quivered a little, but he didn't seem to notice. I'd seen dragons who were controlled by their masters.

He didn't give me an answer right away which only furthered my suspicion. His face changed so that he looked like he was contemplating how to respond to what I'd just said. His eyes lowered to the ground for a few seconds, but then he looked right back up at me.

"Well to be quite honest, there's not really any way I can prove to you that he's not. But he's not…Cedric here is my best friend. I'm Destin by the way." He said all of this nonchalantly, as if I wasn't currently threatening him with a dagger. I swallowed and waited for him to say something else…something that would surely give him away.

"Look…you look a little beat up…and you're out here by yourself. Why don't you come back to the village with Cedric and I, and we can help you." He started to walk towards me but stopped a short ways away. He looked at me with a soft expression and my idea of him being a dragon trapper started to diminish.

"I don't trust you. How do I know you won't hurt me?" My voice shook, and I realized he was right. On top of my broken leg, my body was scratched up and so were my clothes. I didn't know how long it had been since our crash and I had no idea how long it had been since we'd last eaten. He seemed to nod in understanding.

"Look, I'm going to go get some of my friends. I promise on my life we will never hurt you. I'll never hurt you. But at least hear us out, okay?" His promise sounded so sincere that I lowered my arm to my side. I saw the truth in his eyes. He did not wish to hurt me. I nodded to meeting his friends…knowing full well it could be a trap.

I watched as his dragon, Cedric, trotted over to us. I tensed slightly but when he nuzzled up to Destin, I felt myself relax a bit. I stared at him in wonder. I'd never been this close to a dragon that wasn't Nova.

Destin seemed to have noticed. He smiled at me and held his hand out to me.

"You can touch him if you want. He won't hurt you." I looked at him, wondering if this was a trick. I slowly sheathed my dagger and pushed away from the tree. The pain in my leg was not so excruciating anymore, but I still stumbled. I was surprised to find that Cedric had steadied me with his head much the same way Nova always did.

I blinked in surprise but did not move away. I ran my fingers under his jaw and noticed his scales felt the same as Nova's. I wondered if all dragons had the same texture to them. A small smile slipped onto my face when he grumbled slightly. It was higher pitched than Nova's, but still just as loud.

"He likes you." Was all Destin said, and I realized this probably wasn't the best position to be in. I gently pushed myself away from the dragon and stood tall. Destin looked at me like he wanted to ask me something, but in the end I guess he decided against it.

"I'll be right back, okay? Just don't go anywhere. It'll be worth it I swear." He smiled brightly at me and mounted Cedric. I wondered how he could be this kind to someone he'd only just met. Let alone someone who threatened him.

I nodded and I watched as Cedric took off with Destin on his back, flying above the trees to the east.

As soon as they were out of sight, I felt Nova's presence on my left and I patted her head.

"It'll be okay, Nova. Cedric really seemed to trust him. Maybe they're like us." I graced her with a small smile and she nuzzled against my side softly, so I wouldn't fall over.

"I need you to stay in the trees for just a bit longer. Once I know they won't hurt us, I'll call you down, okay?" She made a grumbling noise in her throat and I patted her head. I heard the loud flapping of several pairs of wings nearby and I looked to Nova who was already staring up at the morning sky in the same direction.

"Go now, it'll be okay." Once again, Nova took off into one of the nearby trees.

I heard the rustling of bushes outside of the clearing, and wondered why they didn't just land here. Perhaps they thought I was scared of the dragons they so obviously had.

The first to enter the clearing was Destin. He came through without Cedric and looked around the clearing to find me. He smiled when he saw me. I guess he was glad I hadn't taken off. It took me a little off guard that he must've felt that way. I always felt like a nuisance to everyone.

Next to enter was a boy who was a little taller than me with a thicker build and dark brown hair. The smirk he wore made him look sort of narcissistic, but he didn't seem to intimidate Destin. I took this as a sign that he was okay.

Then came a boy and a girl who were obviously twins. They had the same long blond hair and narrow features. They seemed to be in the midst of an argument. I quirked my brow slightly when the girl pulled the boys hair.

Then came a rather large boy with soft, baby like features. He seemed incredibly harmless and shy from what I could see.

Last to enter was a girl my height with braided blonde hair. She held hands with a boy a little bit taller than her. He had brown hair and eyes the same shade of green as mine. The only thing odd about him was that his left leg was missing. Where it should've been was a piece of metal that seemed to hold him up just fine. They were all my age if not older.

When I decided to step forward, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at me. I looked to Destin because he was the only person I was familiar with. I felt uncertainty then…like doing this was idiotic and I should've fled when I had the chance.

The boy with the missing leg let go of what I believed to be his girlfriends' hand and took a few steps forward.

"So Destin here tells me that you thought we were dragon trappers?" He said it in a friendly way, almost jokingly.

"I've had several encounters with them. Surely you can't blame me for being cautious." He seemed to consider what I just said and nodded, smiling.

"That's true. You don't have to worry though. We're anything but dragon trappers." He looked around at all of his companions and began to introduce everyone.

"Allow me to introduce all of us. I'm Hiccup. You can laugh, I know it's weird. This is Ruffnut and Tuffnut." The twins momentarily stopped their bickering to look at me and nod a simple "hey" before continuing again.

I smiled slightly and the antics of brother and sister.

"This is Snotlout." He gestured to the boy who looked narcissistic. Snotlout gave me a flirtatious wink which I raised my eyebrow at. Hiccup rolled his eyes a bit and moved on to the next person.

"This is Fishlegs." He motioned towards the boy who was larger than the others and he waved shyly at me, but then returned to reading through a small book. I smiled when Destin game me a thumbs up.

"Hi, I'm Astrid." The girl with the blonde hair approached me and smiled. I smiled back and looked at Hiccup. He was smiling at Astrid in a way that oozed love. After a moment he looked back at me.

"Destin came to us saying he found you and you didn't want help? I understand if you think we might be dragon trappers…but I think we have some proof that might convince you." He smiled and nodded towards his friends.

All except for Hiccup disappeared the way they came.

When they reentered the clearing a few moments later, they all had a dragon.

Astrid had her own Deadly Nadder, Destin had Cedric, Fishlegs had a Gronckle, Snotlout had a Monstrous Nightmare, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut had a Hideous Zippleback. I had never seen any of these dragons this close before…but now they were right here in front of me, and they were beautiful.

I wondered if Hiccup had a dragon. Maybe he couldn't ride with his leg that way.

In the end I decided not to ask. I didn't want to be rude.

"They…they're yours?" I asked Hiccup in amazement. Each one was beautiful. I never thought I'd find other people who loved dragons. I was about to call Nova to come down when Hiccup spoke up.

"Well not these ones. These guys are all theirs. My best bud Toothless is still back in the woods. We thought we'd take it slow because we didn't want to scare you. Toothless! You should come meet someone!" Hiccup yelled back into the forest, and I wondered what kind of dragon Toothless might be. I momentarily scolded myself for thinking that Hiccup might not be able to ride a dragon because of his leg.

I heard the rustling of bushes at the far end of the clearing and almost stumbled backwards at the sight of the black, streamlined dragon making its way over to Hiccup.

The dragon was a Night Fury. He was black and lean, with gorgeous blue-green eyes that gazed upon me with curiosity. He had a saddle strapped to his back, just like the other dragons did. But just like Hiccup, something made him unique. Part of his tail was missing, and where it would've been was a replacement that was red with a white dragon skull painted onto it.

"He's a Night Fury." Was the only thing I could manage to say. I let out a laugh that was half relief and half joy. Hiccup seemed happy with my enthusiasm and turned to Toothless who had his eyes trained on me, with his head tilted.

"Toothless this is…uhm…well we never did get your name." Hiccup said, turning back to me. Astrid came up next to him and took his hand in hers.

"Erin. My name is Erin. This dragon…he's yours?" I smiled as Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's hip lovingly.

"Yup. Toothless here is my best friend, and probably the last of his kind." Hiccup started to playfully wrestle with Toothless and the relief hit me like a brick wall. My happy smile turned into a small sad one.

Astrid immediately came forward, concern etched in her features.

"Hey…are you okay?" She put a hand on my shoulder and I nodded. I was more than okay. I was amazing.

"No…he…he's not the last." I said it quietly, but Hiccup still heard and stopped playing with Toothless and looked at me with disbelief.

Everyone stared at me then, as if I were now a Zippleback who had a second head. I felt my cheeks flush with the sudden attention. I took a deep breath and turned to look behind me, in the direction of the tree tops.

"Nova…you can come down." I watched as tree branches quivered and she came into view. She jumped down from her perch and landed next to me gracefully. She stood on my left side so I could lean against her. I smiled at her and rubbed her neck affectionately.

Nova wasn't alone anymore.

We'd found another Night Fury.


	2. Home

**Edited May 28, 2015**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD, though I wish I did.**

"Nova…you can come down." I watched as tree branches quivered and she came into view. She jumped down from her perch and landed next to me gracefully. She stood on my left side so I could lean against her. I smiled at her and rubbed her neck affectionately.

Nova wasn't alone anymore.

We'd found another Night Fury.

The joy from that simple statement was almost overwhelming. Ever since I'd found her, I'd prayed that there were others like her out in the world…it seems that the gods have answered my prayers.

When I looked back up at the group of dragon riders, all of their faces held amazement and wonder. Toothless seemed to be looking at Nova like he was trying to figure out what she was. He tilted his head to the side and examined her.

To my surprise, Nova didn't seem stressed in the least bit by all of the dragons around her. She probably sensed they were trustworthy. Gazing at her now, I saw her eyes were locked on the dragon that looked just like her.

The first gaze I met when I looked up was Destin's. He smiled at me and walked over. I felt less afraid now and it did not make me uncomfortable when he stood near me.

"Wow, I had no idea you had a Night Fury. I can see now why you were worried about us being trappers. She sure is a beauty." At his words, I looked back at her and she was now in the process of circling Toothless while he circled her. They looked like they were about to play, much to my relief.

I was broken out of watching the two dragons when Hiccup strode up to stand next to Destin. He had a large smile on his face when he looked at me.

"How did you find her? I mean, where did she come from? I always thought Toothless was the last of the Night Furies. Do you ride her?" His questions came out in a flurry but I was happy to respond. I knew exactly how he was feeling, as I had a million questions of my own.

I let out a breath of a laugh and stepped backwards to get a better look at Nova and Toothless. The step back made the pain in my leg fire up. It was Destin who caught me this time. He steadied me but didn't let go. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nova's head snap up at the small groan I made. She immediately stopped playing and came over to me, nudging my side.

"I'm okay." I said it to both her and Destin, but neither seemed convinced.

Astrid came over next. She pushed aside my auburn curls that covered my face and felt my forehead.

"She doesn't have a fever, but she's definitely not in good shape. Erin, when was the last time you ate anything?" She asked me like she knew it had been days.

"When we crashed…I hadn't eaten in three days. Neither had Nova. I don't know how long I was unconscious for." I closed my eyes, trying to make the dizziness in my head go away.

Astrid took a step back and looked at Hiccup.

"She may have a concussion. We don't know how she landed and it'll only get worse if she doesn't eat soon. We have to get both of them back to Berk."

Hiccup nodded and looked down at my pale form.

"Erin, will Nova follow Toothless back to where we live? There's no reason for her to fear us. I promise she will be taken care of." I nodded to him and looked down at Nova.

"Nova…you need to go with Toothless, okay? I promise, we'll go riding as soon as we can. I love you." She nudged my hand and I scratched her scales softly.

Destin walked over to me then and gestured over to Cedric. When he came closer and kneeled down, Destin picked me up easily and placed me on Cedric's back. I swung my good leg around the other side of Cedric and watched as Destin climbed on behind me. He wrapped his arms around me torso and I couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. I'd never been this close to a boy in my life, and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about it.

Even though I wasn't sure about my feelings, I didn't protest when his arms tightened. In a matter of seconds, we were up in the air. Flying above the tree tops, and eventually the ocean, I wondered how far away their home was.

I felt the wind whipping through my hair and I felt at home. I lifted my head slightly to see Nova flying directly next to us. Her gaze flickered to me several times, and it also flickered up to look at Destin, who still held a worried look on his face.

He must've noticed I was looking at him, because he looked down and met my green eyes with his bright blue ones. His dark hair was tousled from the wind. His features relaxed a bit and he smiled slightly.

"Hang in there, Princess. We're almost home." He looked over to Nova, then and chuckled quietly.

"She sure does care about you." I smiled at that, knowing it was an understatement.

My mind caught up to me then, and I realized what he'd just said.

_Home? Is there really any place that I can call home?_

My body tensed lightly as I felt Cedric start to slowly lose altitude. Looking out to the sky, I saw the clouds start to disperse, and a large island came into view. There were houses everywhere, and it seemed to be very colorful.

Green grass covered the island, for it was still late summer here. What surprised me the most were the dragons flying all around the island. Some had riders on their backs, and some did not.

In a sense, it was beautiful. It was something I'd always wanted to see. Dragons and people together. Just like Nova and I.

I smiled brightly, and I tried not to notice Destin looking at me with a curious smile.

"Welcome to Berk." He said it so softly, I was surprised I even heard him.

I gripped onto Cedric's saddle when he started to land. When we were on the ground, I loosened my grip on the saddle and Destin was quick to jump off of Cedric and help me off. Since my leg was badly injured, he must've decided that it was a better idea to carry me from that point onward.

I had to admit I felt a bit awkward, but I figured it was better than trying to walk on my wounded leg.

When Destin started to walk towards a large pair of double doors that seemed to be cut into the side of a cliff, I felt Nova pad up beside us, keeping pace.

Hiccup and the others had already landed, and were waiting at the door for the three of us. We reached them within a few seconds.

"The dragons are going to have to stay here, unfortunately. Is that okay, Erin?" Hiccup asked me, a little unsure of my reaction. I nodded and looked at Nova to make sure she'd stay out here with the other dragons.

Without hesitation, Hiccup pushed open the doors and the group strode inside. Ruffnut and Tuffnut pushing each other, Snotlout had his arms crossed as he looked around, Fishlegs scurried inside, and Hiccup and Astrid strode in together. Destin walked in with me still in his arms last.

I was disappointed slightly that Nova couldn't enter. The thought that someone would be feeding her relaxed me, though. She needed food and to be taken care of just as much as I did. I trusted that Hiccup would not let anything happen to her.

I watched as Hiccup walked up to a few women. I could see him speaking to them, but I couldn't hear. My neck started to hurt from the position it was in, so I leaned my temple against Destin's chest, grateful for the relief.

I gathered that the women Hiccup had spoken to were healers. They motioned for all of us to follow them into a small room off to the side. They guided Destin to a small table, where he laid me down on the hard surface. They immediately went to work on examining me.

They cleaned the cuts and scrapes that lined my legs and arms, simultaneously giving me small amounts of food. The food made me slowly start to focus and everything in the room became clearer.

When I looked around, I noticed that everyone except for Destin and the healers had left the room. I briefly wondered where they all disappeared to.

When the healers turned me over onto my stomach to examine my back, Destin started up a conversation with me.

"So Princess…how long have you and Nova been with each other?" He sat in a chair beside the table I was laying on, his elbows propped up on it. His face showed anything but boredom. It looked like he had a million unanswered questions running through his mind.

The intensity of his bright blue eyes on mine made my thoughts unclear for a moment, and I lightly shook my head to clear the haze.

"Why do you call me that? Princess, I mean." I said it without really thinking. I had meant to answer his question, but it was the first thing that came to my mind.

He gave me a small smile at my question but didn't answer.

"I'm not a princess…far from it actually." I let out a tiny breath of a laugh and shook my head, putting my face against my arms and closing my eyes. How could anyone think I was a princess?

"When I first saw you, you looked like a princess. Even though you looked like you'd been through a lot, you were strong, you held yourself high, and you're beautiful." I stiffened slightly and felt my breath catch in my throat. It didn't escape my attention that he just called me beautiful, even though I was beaten, bruised, and probably filthy.

I opened my eyes and looked at him then, meeting his blue gaze.

"Twelve years."

His expression changed to confusion and I laughed softly.

"You asked how long Nova and I had been together. We've been together almost 12 years. I met her when I was only eight." I sighed, remembering the first time I'd actually met Nova. I had been terrified, but somewhere inside me, I knew she didn't want to hurt me, and she was just as scared as I was.

He nodded slowly, and I could see that he had another question on the tip of his tongue. I smiled encouragingly. Sooner or later, If I was allowed to stay, they could ask all of the questions they could think of.

"How did you find her? Surely you don't just walk up on a Night Fury." He chuckled lightly, and I realized that I liked the sound of his laugh. This guy was starting to grow on me, and it'd only been a hour.

Shaking away that thought, I opened my mouth to answer. But before any words were spoken, a large man came through the doorway with Hiccup trailing right behind him.

From the way the healers looked upon him with respect, I came to the conclusion that he was the Chief. I immediately felt unwelcome here for no apparent reason. Like I was intruding in a private place.

When Destin backed away to where Hiccup stood, my fear grew. His presence calmed me for some reason, and with him gone, I felt vulnerable. Though Destin's calm demeanor never left his body, mine was rigid with the anticipation of possibly being thrown out of this beautiful place.

"Erin, this is Stoick, the Chief of Berk, and my Dad." Hiccup said, bouncing up and down slightly on his metal leg.

The fact that he was Hiccup's father caused me to relax a bit.

I looked up to examine the rather large man. He had the same color eyes as Hiccup, and the same color eyes as me. His hair and beard were a deep auburn color with strips of gray that betrayed his age. He looked at me with kind eyes, no doubt knowing what happened thanks to Hiccup.

"Dad, this is Erin. She was the girl who's been with Nova." Hiccup's father held a bright smile at that. I wondered if Stoick had met Nova before coming into here.

"Well it is quite a relief to have found another Night Fury. We were worried that Toothless was the last of his kind." He had a deep accent that seemed to be lacking in all of the teenagers I'd must thus far.

He walked over to the doorway from which he entered and looked back at me.

"Erin, you and Nova are welcome to stay in Berk as long as you'd like." He smiled, and for a brief moment his eyes flicked down to my arm, and I saw his eyes widen.

It was not unusual for someone to be surprised to see the almost flame shaped birthmark on my left upper arm. Many people even believed it to be a burn mark from a dragon.

The Chief walked back over to the table where I lay, bent to a knee so that he was level with me, and took a closer look, never saying a word. I didn't really understand why he looked so utterly astounded.

"Where did you get this? Is it a scar?" I'd heard those questions many times before, so the answers came easily to me.

"No it's not a scar, I was born with it." I said it exactly like I had the last million times.

What was different was the chief's reaction to my statement.

He breathed a deep laugh, and looked up to meet my eyes. There were small, almost invisible tears in the corners of his eyes.

I immediately regretted what I'd said. It must have upset him in some way. I expected him to tell me I was lying, like others had, saying it had to be a burn from a dragon. They would call me foolish for associating with them.

Instead he just looked back at Hiccup and Destin, both looking thoroughly confused. When he looked back at me, he smiled wide.

"What is your name?" He asked me.

I was perplexed by the question. Hiccup had just spoken my name only a few minutes ago.

"My name is Erin." I spoke slowly.

"Your real name." I stiffened slightly, fear lacing my veins. The only people who knew my real name were my mother, who'd left me when I was only a baby, and my adoptive family. If this man knew who I was he could very well be trying to bring me back home.

But then I thought again…my old village hated dragons, and these people live side by side with them. There's no way they're connected.

"Irina." I spoke in a whisper, terrified that saying my birth name aloud would cause my past to find me. Looking back up to the Chief, I saw his eyes alight with an unfathomable joy. What he said next changed my life forever.

"You've come home…"


	3. Coming To Be

**Updated May 29, 2015**

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon…Sadly**

"What is your name?" He asked me.

I was perplexed by the question. Hiccup had just spoken my name only a few minutes ago.

"My name is Erin." I spoke slowly.

"Your real name." I stiffened slightly, fear lacing my veins. The only people who knew my real name were my mother, who'd left me when I was only a baby, and my adoptive family. If this man knew who I was he could very well be trying to bring me back home.

But then I thought again…my old village hated dragons, and these people live side by side with them. There's no way they're connected.

"Irina." I spoke in a whisper, terrified that saying my birth name aloud would cause my past to find me. Looking back up to the Chief, I saw his eyes alight with an unfathomable joy. What he said next changed my life forever.

"You've come home…"

In a word, I was shocked. I watched as the Chief stood to his full height and looked over at Hiccup, who looked confused beyond words.

"Home? I…I don't understand. I've never been here before." I sat upright as best I could without moving my leg, and looked up at him.

"No…you were. Irina this is your home…" He looked back at Hiccup, who still looked totally and utterly confused.

"We're your family." He said it quietly, but the raw emotion in his voice was not hard to hear.

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to deny what the chief was saying. To argue that I hadn't been born here, that I was from a different village. That my mother had abandoned me and left. But somewhere deep down, the possibility of it roared up to the forefront of my mind.

I had the same color eyes as both Hiccup and Stoick. Though of course, that could've been pure coincidence.

The only thing I knew would be able to confirm any of this, was the small thing I asked next.

I looked to Hiccup then, the boy who was supposedly my brother.

"Hiccup…where is your mother?" I did not know what I hoped for him to say. If she was here, then I'd finally be able to meet the woman who'd left me behind, and we would find out once and for all if I belonged to this family.

"She…she was taken when I was only a baby." My heart cracked slightly, knowing that Hiccup had grown up without a true mother also. Hiccup's face did not hold sadness, only a deep confusion.

Stoick spoke up then, his eyes sad with memories of the past.

"You and Hiccup are twins, fraternal, but twins. You were born with that birthmark. Even though you're fraternal, as newborns it was a way of telling you apart. Your mother was taken from us when you were still just an infant. And though it was not her intention to do so…you were taken with her." His eyes fell to the ground as he said it.

My heart faltered at his words. This couldn't be possible.

"Why didn't you ever tell me I had a sister?" Hiccup didn't sound angry. His eyes held a different emotion. One that made him sound sad, happy, and relieved all at the same time.

"I thought it'd be best if you didn't know about your sister. When your mother was taken by the dragons, we all assumed she and Irina were dead."

Hiccup looked like he was about to argue, but not before I spoke up.

"Dragons? Dragons took my mother?" I asked, almost breathless. Was it possible that she didn't abandon me like I'd been led to believe?

"She didn't abandon me…she tried to keep me safe…didn't she?" I asked Stoick, considering he knew her the best since he was indeed her husband.

"She would've never abandoned you. She must've tried to find a place for you among a village." I knew he was being sincere. The words hurt my heart, and tears began to well at the corners of my eyes. All my life I'd believed my mother was a woman who didn't want me. But she was only trying to save me.

The tears spilled over then and I flashed a heartbreaking smile. For once I didn't care if I cried in front of people. For once I knew I didn't have to push down how I felt.

"I…I have a family. I'm not alone." I smiled brighter then, the hot tears still flowing as Stoick enveloped me in a large hug, and I made a mental note that I should ask for permission to call him 'Dad.'

Hiccup walked over then, Destin in tow. I realized he had been entirely silent the entire conversation, but was happy nonetheless.

"So I guess this means I can call you sis?" He asked jokingly. I smiled and hugged him tightly. I didn't care that I'd known him less than twenty four hours. I was so happy, it was hard to contain.

Before any more words could be said, one of the healers spoke up. I'd almost forgotten they were even in the room. When I saw her move forward to speak, I released Hiccup from my hug with a smile.

"Irina, it seems that your scratches will heal well with time. You do not have any head injuries, and your leg is not broken, only severely bruised. You are able to walk on it, but slowly and with support." She smiled at me and walked out of the room, leaving with me with Hiccup, Destin, and my newly deemed father.

"As celebration, we'll be having a bonfire feast tonight in the woods. It won't be too many people. Just us," He gestured to all of us present in the room. "The teenagers, Gobber, and the dragons." Stoick announced. I wondered who Gobber was, but decided I'd find out later.

"That sounds absolutely amazing…but you don't have to do that for me." I blushed. Nothing I'd ever done had been celebrated. Not even my name day.

"Nonsense. My daughter has come home. That is more than enough to celebrate." His tone held little room for argument so I laughed and nodded.

"Hiccup, tell everyone else what I've told you three, and inform everyone of tonight." Hiccup nodded and shot me a smile before leaving the room.

"It seems I have a celebration to plan. I will see you both tonight. I suggest you rest until then, Irina." My father smiled slightly, his suggestion more of a protective order, and he left the room after Hiccup.

Destin looked at me then, his blue eyes filled to the brim with excitement.

"Well, Princess, I guess that means you're one of us now." I swung my legs over the side of the bed I was on, letting them dangle.

Destin stood in front of me and we were silent for several seconds. It was a comfortable silence, and I thought about how in less than a day, I'd gained a family and a home. I'd never been this overwhelmed with joy.

"I guess you'll be seeing a lot more of me then." I teased. I'd pretty much been nothing but trouble since he'd met me, but something told me he didn't mind.

"That I will." He said it happily, a small smile gracing his lips. He tucked a loose auburn curl behind my ear. I blushed from the close contact, but didn't mind. It actually felt kind of nice.

"You should probably rest until tonight." He said with a smile.

Holding his arm out to me he put on the impression of a formal escort. "I will return at sundown to escort you to your celebration, my lady." I giggled at his façade, but looped my arm under his.

"Well, thank you my good sir." I bowed my head, and did my best curtsy while sitting on a table. He laughed at that and pulled away, walking towards the door.

"Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, Princess." He smirked and walked out of the room.

I was left with a stupid smile on my face, and a warm feeling in my heart. I'd never felt this happy before.

Laying back on the hard healing bed, I closed my eyes, and soon drifted into a much needed sleep.

After a brief nap, I awoke and immediately asked a healer if there was a place that I could bathe.

She nodded happily and showed me the way.

After soaking in the warm water for a short time, I got out and got dressed into a new set of clothes that had been laid out. Among the new clothes were long black pants, a green top with gold accents, and a pair of black boots. The top was my favorite shade of green, and I wondered briefly it belonged to me now.

It took a bit of time to manage the pants on with my leg still aching, but I eventually managed. I slipped on the boots, tucking my pant legs inside.

After my hair was mostly dried, I tied it into a loose braid that fell over my shoulder. A few curls slipped away from the braid and hung a bit past my ears, coiling up into loose springs.

I almost looked like a new person now. Free of dirt and stains. It felt good to be clean.

When I found my way back to the healing room, I saw that Destin was waiting by the bed where I previously was. It seemed like it had only been a few hours since he'd left instead of most of the day. It was good to see him though.

"Hey, Princess. Wow…you look great." He smiled and I blushed when his gaze never left mine. He seemed to snap out of his gaze and his face lit up.

"Ready to go?" He offered his arm once more and I took it, using it as a slight support as we walked out of the room.

We walked through the area where we'd first seen the healers. It was a warm place. Lots of people around, who were all staring at me. There were several fires lit, and tables all around. I tried not to notice everyone looking at me. No doubt they'd heard the news.

"We're almost outside." He spoke in a reassuring tone, and I was grateful that he understood I was uncomfortable with all of these people looking at me.

Once we were past the large doors, and outside, I saw that it was indeed sunset.

The sky was lit up with oranges and red and pinks. My attention was soon drawn away from the sky, to the black dragon making its way over to me.

I recognized Nova immediately, and a bright smile lit up my face.

"Nova! I missed you!" I wrapped my arms around her large neck, and I felt her nuzzle the side of her head into my shoulder.

"She's coming too, right?" I looked behind me, aiming my question at Destin. He chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. She's actually your transportation." He walked over to where I was standing, Nova now at my side.

"Well if she's my transportation then where's Cedric?" I asked, swiveling my head to look around the area. He wasn't anywhere that I could see.

"Up ya go!" Ignoring me question, he quickly picked me up and put me on Nova, who didn't falter in the slightest under my weight. I sat side saddle for a moment, a little confused.

"Are we riding?" I asked him. He still hadn't answered my previous question about Cedric's whereabouts.

"No, I'm walking. Nova's following, and you're riding." He chuckled and began to walk forwards, making his way down the hill.

"Whoa, why don't we ride? We'll get there quicker." I protested.

"Well Cedric is already there with the others. He flew with Astrid and Storm Fly." He said, starting to move forward again. There was nothing I wanted to do more right now than fly, and I intended to get my wish.

"What's wrong? Scared to ride a Night Fury?" My voice implied a challenge, and I was waiting for him to take the bait.

He turned and gave me a look that told me I'd have to do better.

"C'mon, please? She needs some exercise." I looked at him with a pleading expression, trying to look as cute as possible. I saw his resolve fading and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. But if we die, I'll have to kill you." He walked over gracefully, not betraying any fear in his stride that was clear in his tense shoulders.

I swung my right leg over the other side of Nova and felt Destin climb on behind me.

"Hold on." I blushed when he wrapped his arms around my torso.

"C'mon girl." I patted her neck softly.

She took off effortlessly, gliding, but slowly gaining altitude with each flap of her raven wings.

She was careful not to jostle too much because of my leg, and I was grateful.

I let out a happy laugh, loving the familiar wind against my skin and thrill of being above the world. I raised my arms and stretched them out, holding onto Nova with only the muscles of my thighs.

I felt Destin stiffen at this, no doubt worried about our safety, but I knew nothing would happen. I only enjoyed the moment. That moment ended shortly when I realized I had no idea where I was supposed to be going. I tapped Nova on the neck, giving her the signal to stop.

"Destin, where do we go from here?" I called.

"We're not too far, actually. Do you see that clearing down there?" He pointed towards the ground, where a large, green clearing held several people and dragons.

I nodded and tapped Nova again, giving her the signal to go. We glided effortlessly down, landing at the southern end of the clearing. Everyone's heads turned as we landed, and I blushed again from the attention.

After landing, Destin and I dismounted. I noticed my leg was feeling a little better, and I felt okay to walk on my own.

Nova immediately took off to run around with Toothless and Cedric. She seemed most comfortable with them, but would soon be better with the rest of the dragons, I hoped.

Mostly everyone was seated around the large pile of logs in the middle of the clearing. They all smiled and greeted us when we approached.

When my father stood up to greet us, I gave him a hug. He chuckled and hugged me back tightly. After he released me, I quickly did the same to Hiccup. He laughed and hugged me back.

"Irina, there's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Gobber. He's my closest friend." I let go of Hiccup and turned to see who my father was speaking about. The man my father introduced me to was large. He was missing a hand, and a leg. He smiled at me in greeting, and I returned it.

"Nice to meet you, there, lass." He had a thick accent, just as my father did, and I shook his remaining hand.

After introductions, I sat next to Destin on one of the logs and watched as Hiccup had Toothless set the fire in the middle of the clearing.

The sparks burned blue and then shifted to orange and red. It was a beautiful sight, even after I'd seen Nova do the same a hundred times over.

We were all given food, but for the time being I wasn't very hungry.

It was silent for a while as everyone else ate, but eventually someone spoke up. That someone was Astrid.

"So…Erin…or should I call you Irina? Where did you come from?" She didn't seem to be too hungry either because she sat on the ground, her back against the log, and her legs up against her chest.

"I'd actually prefer Erin, thank you for asking. Well I came from a village that's actually really far from here. We lived on an island probably a little smaller than Berk, but we had no name." I spoke about my old life with bitter sweet emotions. So many bad things had happened there, but so many good things at the same time.

"What about your family you had there?" She asked. I knew it would be hard to talk about my adoptive family, but I had nothing to fear here, and that gave me confidence.

"I lived with my adoptive family on a small sheep farm. I had a father, a mother, and a sister. To be honest…they weren't much of a family. My father pretended that I didn't exist most of the time, pushing me aside like I was worthless. My mother…well she paid too much attention to me it seems. She'd scrutinize everything I did, always telling me that I was wrong. My sister…well my sister always treated me like I was an animal more than a human." I stared at the fire while I retold my long set aside memories of my past life.

"They didn't physically harm me, they only ever said hurtful things. They told me I was worthless, that my mother never wanted me." My heart clenched, but I knew the words they spoken were no longer true.

"I'm so sorry, Erin. That must've been hard for you." Astrid said, looking at me sadly. I offered her a small smile.

"It was a long time ago. I tend not to worry over it much anymore." I felt my gaze slip back to the fire. I could sense in the atmosphere that there were several unanswered questions still not voiced.

"You mentioned that you'd rather be called Erin. Why is that?" My father's voice did not sound accusing, and I was glad. I didn't want to offend him by changing my name.

"I changed it because it was a reminder of that life. I felt that if I changed my name, I could start fresh and not worry about being weighed down by the past." I felt slightly ashamed, and I hoped that my father wouldn't be upset about it.

"Do not worry. As long as you are happy, that is all that matters." I lifted my eyes to meet his and smiled. It wasn't long before the next question was voiced. Though this question was mine.

"Could I ask…what was my mother's name?" My eyes didn't leave my father's face as he smiled sadly.

"Valka." He said it quietly, but I knew everyone had heard it. All my life I'd wondered what her name was, hoping for any small connection. I smiled and closed my eyes for a brief moment.

"Why did you leave in the first place?" Hiccup asked. I opened my eyes and watched as he slid down off the log to sit next to Astrid, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"That's a pretty long story actually. Are you sure you want to hear it?" I looked around to everyone, making sure it was okay to go on. Everyone seemed eager to hear my story.

I looked next to me at Destin and he gave me a reassuring smile. I took a deep breath.

"Well it all started when I found Nova." As if in response to hearing her name, she ceased her playing in the meadow grass to come to my side, sitting down next to the log I was on. I smiled up at her.

"I was eight. When I was younger, my parents used to punish me for small things like spilling something, or forgetting to clean a particular area. As punishment, they would send me out to sleep with the sheep. In a way, I actually enjoyed it. On warm nights I'd lay in the pasture grass and stare up at the stars, wishing to fly away." I looked up at the stars then, smiling like they were old friends.

"One night, during the winter, I was admiring the shooting stars when I saw a black shadow pass over. It screeched and landed in the forest near my home. Being a curious eight year old, I went and saw what had happened.

"After searching for a good half hour, I finally found it. It was a dragon. Nova. I remember being scared, telling myself to run, to tell someone, but for some reason, bringing her to death made me want to cry.

"So I walked to her, not knowing if she was dead or not. I saw the large gash across her chest…" I paused to run my hand over the scar reaching across Nova's chest.

"I saw her breathing, and some part of me told me I needed to help her. So I did. I went home, asking my parents for a few bandages and medicine, telling them that one of the sheep had cut itself on the wire. They believed me, and I was able to bring the supplies back to her.

"After taking care of the gash, I noticed that her eyes were open and staring right at me. I remember tripping backwards, scared that she'd now harm me, but she didn't. She only stood up to the best of her abilities and walked over to me. She stood two feet in front of me. Not knowing what to do, I tried to reach out and stroke her head, and to my surprise, she let me." I paused to stroke Nova's forehead. She grumbled deep in her chest.

I watched as the other dragons started to join their riders.

Astrid's dragon laid down beside her and leaned its head against Astrid's legs. Toothless laid down next to Hiccup; the twins' dragon had its body behind the log they were sitting on, but the separate heads came to rest in each of their laps. Fishlegs' dragon nuzzled his head affectionately against his riders' side. Snotlout's dragon came to coil its body around Snotlout's log, laying its head down in the grass in front of him. The dragon who I assume belonged to my father simply laid down next to him, as did Gobber's dragon.

I marveled at the sight in front of me.

"From that day on…she was my best friend." Nova placed her head in my lap momentarily, and I giggled softly.

No one else spoke, so I kept speaking.

"I'll never understand why she stayed. Her wings were not broken, nor was anything else. She could've flown away, never to be seen again. But she didn't. I always liked to think that she was just as alone as I was, and maybe in some small way I made her not feel alone anymore.

"I admit, punishment wasn't so bad anymore. Eventually, I intentionally did things that would get me sent to sleep outside. On those nights, I'd bring leftover food. Anything I could find, really. Fish, lamb, vegetables, and I'd give them to her to eat.

"It continued this way for years. Nova became my only source of happiness. I still remember the day she let me ride her. It was…the most unbelievable feeling I'd ever experienced." I fell into my memories of my rides with Nova. On sleepless nights, we'd explore the island, sometimes even going beyond."

I continued to my least favorite part of this story.

"As for why I left…well I had been walking home from our lessons with my sister and a few of her friends. I don't remember what I did wrong, but they pushed me to the ground and started punching me, kicking me, scratching me, and trying to inflict as much pain as possible. I was fourteen then. I could've ran, I could've fought back, but I knew I'd receive a punishment worse than sleeping outdoors.

"I tried my best not to, because I knew she could hear, but one of the boys kicked me hard in the stomach, and I screamed. It didn't take long for Nova to come. I'd had my eyes closed because of the pain, but I heard the screams of my sister and her friends. Nova would never hurt them, but she did scare them.

"I remember her standing over my bruised body protectively as she growled at the children. Most of all I remember the threats from my sister. She was going to tell our parents. Whether or not they would believe her, I didn't know.

"I knew I'd eventually have to go home and face them. I convinced Nova to stay out of sight, but near enough that she would still be able to protect me, should anything happen.

"Walking through the front door, the first thing I heard was my sisters crying. Before I could even see her, I felt my fathers' hand slap me across my face. He'd never hit me before, so I didn't know what to do. All I remember was him yelling, calling me an outcast, a freak. I remember crying so hard that I could barely breathe. It didn't take long for Nova to realize that something was wrong. She crashed through the ceiling, growling at my family who yelled in shock. I wasted no time climbing onto her and leaving that horrid place. We never went back." A single tear slid down my cheek remembering all the things my father had called me.

"So you've been by yourself for that long?" Gobber asked, simultaneously eating a piece of meat.

I nodded. "Yes, for almost six years, it was only Nova and I." I looked at Nova now. She was laying on the ground. I would've thought she was sleeping if her eyes hadn't of been wide open. She was staring at the fire with open interest.

"What about all of the scars you have?" Snotlout spoke up for the first time. I wasn't offended by the question. Fine, white lines covered most of my arms and legs. It was hard not to notice them.

"Well during our six years on the run, Nova and I had a few complications. Any place we landed for rest had villagers that would chase us away or try to hurt us. Though most of these are from dragon trappers. When I was younger, I was not so careful. We were caught several times, but we always managed to make it out, however slightly scathed." I looked at Nova and traced some of the blackish-blue scars lining her legs and back.

Everyone seemed to notice the scars for the first time, and they seemed surprised by the number of them.

"It had been two years since we'd had any incident at all…up until a few days ago. They surprised us mostly. It was nearly midnight and dark. We didn't see them fire the net at us. I impressed myself by cutting the rope off of Nova during our fall, but I wasn't quick enough. We hit the water hard. It knocked me out, and I probably would've died if Nova hadn't rescued me. I woke up, not really knowing how long it'd been, and not long after that, Destin and Cedric came along." I looked at Destin who had his elbows on his knees, head propped in his hands, staring at the fire. He smiled.

"It's a good thing I convinced you to come back with me too. Otherwise the chief's daughter might've never returned." He sat upright and nudged my arm lightly with his elbow. Everyone laughed at that, and I felt truly welcomed by them all.

"So during your time with Nova, how many other dragon types have you seen?" Fishlegs asked. Something told me he was really interested in the different types of dragons by how enthusiastic his question sounded.

"Not many, really. Mostly common dragons, like the ones here. However I've seen a few others. On our own we've seen Thunderdrums and Timberjacks. But we've never seen anything else." I felt bad for disappointing Fishlegs. He seemed really interested in the dragons. I took comfort in the fact that someone else held such an interest in them.

"So what do you exactly like to do? Besides riding Nova." Destin joked.

"Well I'm really good at sketching. I used to sketch Nova a lot, and the places we'd stay. But my sketchbook was ruined in the fall." I remembered searching through my bag after waking up in the healing room, and finding that my sketchbook was waterlogged and useless now.

"I've got a few spares that you can have if you want." Hiccup offered. I smiled and nodded at him.

For another few minutes, nobody spoke. I took this as an opportunity to ask some of my questions.

"So Hiccup…how did you manage to be such good friends with Toothless? And what happened to his tail?" I asked my brother. He looked up and then looked at Toothless and let out a laugh.

"Well if you can believe it, Berk wasn't always dragon-friendly. I was fifteen then, and I'd made this contraption to take down a dragon in midair. Back then, killing dragons was what made you a Viking. During one of the dragon raids, I shot down a Night Fury. Nobody believed me of course." He chuckled and nudged Astrid, who smiled.

"The next day, when I found him, he was caught in the net. I told myself I was going to kill him, to prove to everyone that I could really be a Viking. But in the end, I couldn't. I saw his eyes, and I saw me. So I ended up cutting him free. He tried to fly away, but courtesy of me…" He rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"Part of his tail had been injured and he couldn't go anywhere. So for weeks, I brought him food, learned about him, and eventually made a prosthetic so he could fly. And the rest is history." Hiccup laughed and patted Toothless' head.

Ruffnut chimed in for what seemed the first time, and I observed that Tuffnut was now completely asleep, though he was sitting upright.

"So you're planning to stay right? We could use another girl on our team." Ruffnut looked at Astrid and they both smiled and nodded.

I looked at my father, and then at Hiccup. They both looked hopeful.

"If you will have me…than I would love nothing better than to stay."

**Author's Note:** So if any of you read this and there are things that don't make sense in the next few chapters, it's because I'm updating the stories (:


	4. Taking Flight

**Updated July 1****st**** 2015**

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon**

It had been three days since I'd been found. Several days since I'd suddenly been graced with a welcoming home and family.

Unfortunately the past several days had been miserable. Even though I'd felt fine on the bonfire trip, my father wanted me to be able to heal properly. Especially my leg. Which meant that I was confined to my bed for most of the three days.

My father, the Chief of Berk, had stated that I'd obviously be living with him and Hiccup. Though my room was not much at the moment, I intended to have books, sketches, and other things personal scattered around sometime in the near future.

I was happy that my father had at least let me go on short walks with Nova throughout the day. Sometimes I'd walk around with her and Destin would join us. Then we'd sit outside my home and watch the sun go down. The sunsets were always beautiful here on Berk.

In my 'confinement', as Destin called it, I became a little restless. All I really wanted to do was explore and go riding with Nova. Though no matter how restless I came to be, I listened to my father, knowing that he was only concerned for me. And that was something I was dearly thankful for.

But today…well today was different.

It had been three agonizing days and the healers said I could leave and walk around on my own. Hiccup and I had been planning to go riding with Toothless and Nova as soon as I was feeling better. And today was the day.

I woke with the sun, feeling ecstatic and anxious to be in the air again.

I wasted no time brushing through my unruly curls and throwing on some pants and a light shirt. It was still summer here, so I didn't really need anything much warmer than this.

I all but ran down the stairs, practically slamming into a still half-asleep Hiccup on the way down. I narrowly dodged him on the way down the steps. I was already trying to run out the door when my father stopped me.

"Whoa whoa, slow down. You can't go out there on an empty stomach." My father chuckled and I realized it was probably a good idea to eat something before a big day like this.

I smiled and took a seat at the small table in our house next to Hiccup.

I tried my best to eat slowly, seeing as I wouldn't be going anywhere at least until Hiccup was fully functional.

When I finished eating, I sat at the table still, eagerly bouncing my leg up and down.

I saw my father smile and I could see that he'd given up on trying to keep me in the house.

"Okay, Erin. Why don't you go ahead and get Nova ready. I'm sure Hiccup will meet you at the stables soon enough."

A bright smile lit up my face. I didn't know how long it would take for Hiccup to be ready, considering he was dozing off at the table. But, I would make the best of that time.

"Thank you! I'll see you later." I smiled brightly and kissed my father on the cheek. He chuckled heartily and it made me smile brighter. Before Hiccup could pass out at the table, I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind and hugged him.

"Don't keep me waiting forever." I joked. Letting go, I gave them both one last smile before heading out into the early morning sunshine. Looking at the sky, I couldn't see a single cloud. It was a gorgeous day.

I casually made my way through the streets of houses that headed down to the stables. On my walk, I saw several children running around with baby dragons, which was adorable. It was a refreshing change to see humans interact with dragons. I heard a screech from above me and saw Snotlout race by on Hookfang. I smiled and continued to make my way to the stables. My father had said that Nova would be allowed to stay with me at night once we got her a platform to sleep on. Walking into the dragon stables, I was happy to see that someone had already let Nova out. Presumably Destin, since she was playing with Cedric.

At my approach, she seized her playing and bounded over to me. I gave her a hug around her neck and then kissed her head lightly.

"Ready to go riding, girl?" I laughed. She immediately switched to play mode and started to leap around me in the same way a dog would. I smiled at her and walked back out of the stables to await Hiccup. Cedric followed us, and I wondered briefly where Destin was.

After a few minutes of waiting, I saw some movement headed towards us, and I turned to see Hiccup striding up the hill. Out of nowhere, Toothless jumped off the roof of the stables and landed right in front of Hiccup. He started to lick Hiccup before he could even get out a word.

"Toothless! This probably won't wash out you know?" He playfully scolded him.

He looked at me then and chuckled.

"Guess you just couldn't wait, huh?" I laughed and walked over to him. I patted Toothless' head.

"Well I've been cooped up for three days. You can't blame me for being excited." I smiled widely and turned to see Nova making her approach over to us.

She sidled up next to me and nuzzled her head under my arm.

"Well before we go, I've got something for you." I watched as he walked into the stables for a moment. I quirked my brow and angled my body to try and get a better look at what he was doing.

_They've graced me with everything I could ever need. What else could they possibly give me? _

My eyes widened when I saw Hiccup walk out carrying a large, black leather saddle.

He set it down on the ground and looked back up at me.

"While you were tucked away in the house, I took the liberty of getting a special saddle made. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. I just noticed you rode Nova without one."

I walked over to the saddle and inspected it, running my fingers over the leather. There were electric blue spirals all around the saddle, and it was easy to see that Hiccup outdid himself.

"There's pockets for knives, food, and pretty much anything else you could think of." Hiccup gestured to it with a shy smile, probably wondering if I liked it.

"It's amazing, Hiccup. Thank you." I smiled. I stood up and looked at Nova, who had come up beside me. She was staring at the saddle like it was a bizarre insect. She started to paw it like it was a toy and I giggled.

Hiccup helped me pick it up and place it on her back. We tied it underneath her stomach, and stepped back to examine our teamwork.

It fit her perfectly, and the black almost matched her scales perfectly. Nova bounced around once it was on and she ran around Toothless a few times, looking back at the new accessory occasionally. Toothles gave her what looked like a dragon smile and he showed Nova the saddle that he wore. I giggled and walked over to Nova.

"Let's get this show on the road." Hiccup said. He climbed on top of Toothless and I did the same with Nova, fitting myself into the new saddle. I saw that there were also small sheaths on the side, and made a mental note to fit my daggers in there on the next trip. Perhaps I'd even get a sword.

I watched as Toothless and Hiccup took off, and I felt the gust of wind that came from the beat of Toothless' wings. I patted Nova and gave her a smile.

She took off at a run and then we were flying.

We caught up with Hiccup and Toothless easily. We glided for a while over the vast ocean, and I reveled in the sunlight and the wind on my cheeks.

"So what are we do…"

My sentence was cut short when Toothless shot up into the sky at a staggering speed. Letting out an excited laugh, Nova and I followed suit. As we flew higher and higher, I saw that clouds had started to gather in the sky, creating what looked like a vast land of ice. It was a truly astounding sight, and one that I never tired of.

We found Toothless flapping in place above the clouds and Hiccup had a large smile on his face.

"Just making sure you could keep up sis!" He shouted. I laughed at him and shook my head,

"Don't worry about me!" I screamed before he took off and did several tricks with Toothless in midair. I watched as Toothless did a tight corkscrew and then fell back down beneath the clouds.

Nova and I lowered down just below the clouds to see Hiccup and Toothless gliding effortlessly across the water. I laughed and waited for them to come back up to meet us.

When they did, I remembered a trick that I used to do with Nova.

"Oh yeah? Well just watch this." I stood up from my saddle, and I felt Nova grumble when she realized what I was doing. She didn't particularly like this trick.

I saw Hiccup raise a brow. And then I jumped.

I fell straight down, laughing hysterically all the way. It only took Nova a matter of seconds to reach me. I was back in the saddle and hanging on in no time.

We flew back up to where Hiccup and Toothless had hovered, watching us. Hiccup had a challenging look in his eyes.

"Oh it's on." I watched as he unhooked himself from Toothless. He whispered something to Toothless, and then slipped off the edge of him.

Toothless' eyes grew with alarm and I could tell Hiccup hadn't tried this before. Nova and Toothless took off in pursuit of Hiccup and I watched in amazement as he pulled a string at his side. And suddenly, he was flying.

I laughed in amazement. He was using some type of leather flaps to glide through the air. Toothless glided next to him, Nova and I on the other side. He was shouting and laughing and looking at Toothless and then back to us. I saw pure joy on his face.

But that was when things went wrong. The leather that connected to his torso ripped. I saw his face morph from joy to panic and my heart dropped in my chest.

"Hiccup!" I screamed my brother's name as he plummeted at dizzying speeds towards the churning water below. I knew that the impact would surely kill him.

It was a chore to hold back screams as we plummeted down to try and catch Hiccup. It hadn't even occurred to me until that moment that Toothless couldn't properly fly on his own without Hiccup.

As we neared the water, I saw that Toothless had already spiraled down in a speedy attempt to catch up with Hiccup. It seemed he would make it, but I still took off with Nova towards the water.

I faintly heard him screaming Toothless' name.

I didn't realize I'd been holding my breath until Toothless finally caught up with Hiccup. I watched as Toothless spread his wings out wide, sending them soaring upwards with winds.

They soon came to glide next to me and Nova. To my surprise, Hiccup was laughing. Toothless didn't seem all that amused though.

"We'll have to work on that some more bud." Hiccup laughed shakily. He patted the side of Toothless' head. In response Toothless smacked Hiccup with one of the scaled flaps on his head.

"Hiccup are you alright? You scared me half to death." I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest. Although I hadn't been the one falling…losing my brother who I'd just come to know almost broke my heart.

He met my worried eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"I'm fine, Erin. Toothless wouldn't let anything happen to me." He said as he scratched the side of Toothless' forehead. I smiled shakily.

"We should find a place to rest for a while. Don't you think?" I suggested. I was pretty sure everyone needed a break after what just happened.

Hiccup nodded, and Toothless started to fly to the north. Nova followed and I decided I'd take a breather.

I bent forward and laid my cheek on top of Nova's head, my arms wrapped loosely around her neck. Nova made a noise in the back of her throat that she usually did when she was concerned about me. I rubbed her neck.

"I'm okay, Nova. It's just that I just found out he was my brother. That I even had a brother. And I was so close to losing him right then…it's just a scary feeling." I closed my eyes briefly, feeling the wind play in my hair.

I smelled the fresh air and even from this height I could taste the saltwater from the ocean. I took several deep breathes to calm my nerves. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and sat up.

I saw that we were approaching an island. Toothless began to slow down, and Nova followed his example.

We landed effortlessly on the mossy grass of the island. I dismounted Nova and patter her head before walking over to Hiccup who had just gotten off of Toothless.

I watched with a small smile as Toothless and Nova started to leap around and play together.

"You're sure you're alright?" I asked him. He didn't seem affected at all by his fall, and I realized that he held as much trust in Toothless as Toothless did in him.

Even though he reassured me he was okay, I grabbed his face and checked for bruises. I also moved his arms around to make sure they weren't broken. He laughed.

"Erin, I'm fine. I promise." He smiled big, trying to reassure me.

I nodded and then punched him in the arm.

"That was for scaring me." I laughed as he rubbed his arm, laughing also. He shook his head.

"I can tell you and Astrid will be the best of friends." He laughed. I didn't really understand what he meant by that but I guessed that she used to hit him for similar reasons.

We stayed on the island for most of the day. We watched Toothless and Nova run around playing and playing tug-of-war with several trees. Hiccup told me the story of the Red Death that they had to face, and I finally learned how he lost part of his leg, and how Berk had come to love dragons and accept them as their own.

He also took the time to show me his map that he'd been making. He told me of all the islands he'd discovered with Toothless and the rest of his friends. It was easy to tell that Hiccup and I were one and the same. We both had that unquenchable need to know what lies beyond the horizon.

When the sun was just starting to go down, we heard the distant flapping of wings. As they drew closer, I saw that it was Astrid and Destin. I smiled.

I hadn't really been able to see anyone except Hiccup and Destin since I'd been mostly confined to bed, so it was nice to see some of my new friends.

I sat in the grass and watched them land. Hiccup stood to go greet them and I saw Destin's bright smile the instant he saw me.

"Where have you guys been all day?" Astrid laughed. She watched Storm Fly run off with Toothless and walked over to us. She hugged Hiccup and came over to sit down with him on the grass.

I faintly heard Hiccup replaying the moments of today to Astrid. Destin quickly dismounted Cedric and came to sit next to me on the grass.

"Glad to see you're up and about, Princess. But you spent your whole day away from Berk. I couldn't even see you when you were better. I'm hurt." He put his hand over his heart in a mock attempt at pain. I rolled my eyes and nudged his shoulder with mine.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine. I had to get out and fly for a while." I smiled. I didn't meet his gaze because I knew I'd probably stutter. Instead, I idly picked at the blades of grass under my hands. I heard him chuckle.

When I looked up at him, he was looking at Hiccup.

"You know, Hiccup. We should build a fire and then fly home at dark. That's always my favorite time to fly." He suggested. Hiccup seemed to contemplate it and then nodded. He turned to Astrid

"Sounds good. Did my Dad seem mad that we'd been gone all day?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"No. I think he was expecting that you would be home a little later than usual." She smiled and then looked at us.

"You guys have to find the firewood though." She laughed and settled down to lay in the grass, her arms crossed behind her head.

I laughed and nodded. Destin stood up first and then offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me up easily.

Nova seemed to understand that I was leaving the area and padded over to see what was going on.

"It's okay, girl. We're just going to get some firewood. You can stay and play with everyone." I scratched her neck and she nuzzled my side. I smiled and walked into the wooded area of the island once I saw Toothless was occupying Nova.

The light flooded through the trees in odd shapes, and it felt like I was walking through a shadowy mosaic. Destin walked ahead of me, pushing aside branches for me.

Picking up several pieces of wood at a time, Destin looked over at me curiously while I swatted bugs away.

"So what _did_ you do all day?" He said while continuing to pick up wood. I laughed at the memory of the days' events.

"Well we went flying, obviously. We showed off some tricks that we knew. Hiccup almost died." I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Destin burst into laughter.

"Seriously? What happened?" He seemed to have enough firewood, so he walked over to me.

"Well I guess Hiccup made this thing to make him fly? I don't know but I guess it didn't work and he fell." I rolled my eyes. I hoped he wouldn't do something like that again. I didn't plan on losing my brother anytime soon.

When I'd piled up enough wood, I set it down on the ground in a heap. I wanted to explore a little bit.

"C'mon let's see what's around here." I smiled at Destin and walked through the trees up ahead. This was my need for adventure and I was curious to know if there was anything interesting about this island.

For a few minutes, there really wasn't anything to see except more trees. But even then it was gorgeous. The birds sang their songs in the trees and the pools of light changed color as the sun set.

Destin walked close to me, and we observed in a comfortable silence.

After a few minutes, I saw a break in the trees up ahead.

I turned and smiled widely at Destin before walking up head. There was a clearing after the trees, and at the edge was cliff that over looked the ocean.

The sight was simply breathtaking. The oranges and reds of the sunset were thrown across the water and the clearing. I heard the calling of the seagulls and I could smell the salty ocean spray.

I walked closer to the edge of the cliff. Standing on the edge, I felt as if I was on top of the world. I closed my eyes and let the remaining rays of sun sink into my skin.

My eyes shot open at the abrupt crumbling noise from underneath me. I realized that the edge of the cliff must not be very stable. I backed up as far as I could but I wasn't quick enough. The rock beneath me was already falling.

Before I could let out a scream, I felt myself being pulled away from where I had been.

Opening my eyes, I saw Destin's face a few inches from mine. His eyes were wide with surprise and concern. His arms were around my waist and my hands were pressed flat against his chest. I could feel his heart beating fast through his shirt. He was so close that I could see every detail of his face. I noticed for the first time the several different hues of blue that swirled in his eyes.

Destin seemed to notice how close we were standing because he stepped back a little bit to give me some space to breathe. Though thinking about what just happened still made it a little hard.

"Are you okay?" His eyes still held concern. All I could do was nod.

He'd saved me. He'd actually saved me, and from the look in his eyes, he was just as scared as I was about me falling.

"Thank you…for saving me." I couldn't meet his eyes for some reason. So I busied myself with looking at the outcropping of rock that had previously fallen into the waters below.

"Sure thing, Princess." I noticed that he didn't sound as cheery as he usually did when he called me 'Princess'. He seemed a little breathless…nervous even.

"Well we should probably get back…they'll be expecting us." I motioned back towards the woods and he nodded.

He went through first, and I realized I didn't like it when he was this quiet. I liked it when he was funny and himself. Trying to break the weird silence, I decided to ask some questions.

"So Destin. How long have you been living on Berk?" I asked shyly. He turned around to give me a small smile but continued walking.

"I've been living on Berk for about two years now. It seems like it's been longer than that though." As he continued walking, I quickly thought of another question to ask him. We neared our piles of wood that we left behind earlier and hastily gathered them in our arms.

"Okay so w…"

"How about this. You ask one question, then I ask one question. Sound good?" He chuckled and I nodded with a smile. There wasn't a whole lot of interesting things to know about me, so I didn't know what to expect from his question.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked. I scoffed at the question. When he looked back at me, he had an eyebrow raised, which looked really attractive on him.

"You want to know what my favorite color is?" I asked disbelieving. He chuckled lightly.

"Is that such a bad thing to ask, Princess?" He asked wryly. I giggled and shook my head.

"No, I suppose not. It's green. Like the green in Nova's eyes. That's my favorite color." I smiled up at him, and realized that I loved the color of his eyes also. I blushed and looked down at the wood I was carrying.

"That's interesting. Mine is probably yellow. It's bright and it's a happy color." He smiled and didn't take his eyes off of me.

Blushing still, I decided to voice my next question.

"How old were you when you found Cedric?"

He let out a breath of air and I saw him counting back the years.

"I was sixteen when I found him. It seems like it was a life time ago. In some ways I guess it is." He smiled again and looked at me, ready to say his next question.

Before he could speak, I saw that we were about to walk back into the clearing that our friends and dragons were in.

When we entered the clearing, Astrid and Hiccup gave us a skeptical look, but thankfully didn't enquire further of why we'd taken so long gathering firewood.

As we walked towards the fire that was already lit, I spotted Toothless and Nova curled up next to each other and I smiled.

'_It's good they're getting along.'_ I thought. '_Maybe one day there'll be more than just two Night Fury's._' I smiled at the thought.

I helped Destin stack the firewood and then we sat down across the hearth from Astrid and Hiccup.

For the rest of the night, we all sat and told stories. Astrid told us about first meeting Toothless. It made me laugh that he'd toyed with her until she'd apologized to Hiccup for the way she used to treat him.

I listened intently as Destin told us about how he was being chased by thugs when Cedric saved him. He told us that he never quite understood what possessed him to do it, but since that day they'd been the best of friends. It had been a few years after that that he found Berk.

Though I didn't tell any stories of my own, I listened intently to everything they said. I only wished that I could've been present for all of the amazing things that had happened here.

At one point in the night, Nova left Toothless' side and came to lie down behind me and Destin. She twisted so her body was behind us, her head was on my lap, and her tail was wrapped around the front of us. I remembered how she used to do this on cold nights. She'd stretch out her wings and I'd use her body warmth to keep myself alive.

From his spot beside me, Destin reached over and stroked Nova's forehead. She looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. Then she closed them and leaned into his touch.

In one of the silences that stretched on, I asked another question for Destin.

"Destin?" I looked and saw him watching the flames dance in the fire.

"Yeah?" He didn't look at me and I hoped this question wouldn't cross the line.

"Did you have a family before you met Cedric?" I asked the question quietly, so quietly that Astrid and Hiccup probably didn't hear. I saw his shoulders sag, and I already felt guilty for asking such a question.

"You don't have to answer, I completely understand." I said it quietly, placing my hand on top of his. It amazed me how warm he was.

He looked at me then and smiled slightly.

"No it's okay. Yes, I had a family before Cedric. But at that time, I hadn't seen them in years. When I was eight years old, someone killed my family. I only had my parents, but my mother was about to have my baby brother, Cedric." He said slowly. I felt my heart break when he told me this. Who would do such a thing? Whoever did that must've been a terrible, terrible person. I squeezed his hand lightly in reassurance.

"I lived on my own for eight years after that. It was a hard life, and I took whatever I could get." He went back to looking at the fire and I remembered what he'd said about it seeming like another lifetime when he'd met Cedric.

"Cedric was the greatest blessing of my life. I'd be in the same place I was then if it hadn't been for him." He looked away from the fire and looked at Cedric who was curled up with Stormfly and Toothless.

"Cedric and I were on our own for two years after that. When we found Berk, it seemed like it was too good to be true. But it wasn't, and we have this amazing life here. I wouldn't want anything else."

He looked at me then with a small smile and I saw the flames dancing in his eyes. I smiled back and him and found happiness in the fact that someone who'd been through so much, could be so happy. It was how I hoped I would be some day.

After there were no more stories to be told, we decided it was time to go back home. We snuffed out the fire and all mounted our dragons.

Toothless and Hiccup were the first to take off, and the rest of us followed closely behind. Destin and Cedric flew close to Nova and I.

Every few moments I'd look over at them and there were several times when I caught him staring at me. Other times he was looking up at the sky. The midnight black was illuminated by millions of blue and white flickering stars.

Although Nova and I had flown at night a hundred times, the view was never any less amazing. I found myself smiling and staring up at the bright lights. There were usually fires lit all around Berk, so I was sure it made it hard to see all of the stars.

I watched as one streaked across the dark sky. I smiled and closed my eyes, making a small wish. It had been something my 'sister' had often done. Though she'd always wished for material things, I'd always wish to find happiness one day.

I was happy to know that my wish had come true.

**Author's Note: **Hope you guys like the edited version of this chapter (: Much more details about Destin and Cedric. Hopefully there won't be many more chapters left until we get into the movie. I just thought there should be some stuff beforehand so we get a feel for the new characters (:


	5. The Water is Wide

Hey guys, I'm so sorry for the late update. Things may go a little slow from here on out. I'm just starting school and I'm also trying to find a job so my weeks are pretty busy. I'll try and update whenever I can though!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own HTTYD.

It was a cloudy day in Berk. For some reason, I found this to be the perfect time to visit the beach. We'd been in Berk for a few weeks now and during one of our explorations, Nova and I had found a path that led to the sea. The practically the entire shore was surrounding by the cliffs that made up the island of Berk, but we managed to find a way down here. I'd been overjoyed when we found it.

I enjoyed the feeling of the water beneath my toes. And the sounds and smell of the waves always relaxed me.

I was currently sitting on a large rock that was almost exactly where the water met the shore. I sat cross legged, watching the waves rush up to kiss the sand, and sink back into the ocean.

I smiled as I watched Nova frolic in the waves. She was eagerly catching fish to eat, and enjoying every second of it.

The beach hadn't been a place that Nova and I had visited often before we left our island all those years ago. But whenever we were able to walk down by the sea, it made up for the serenity we'd missed.

Where I used to live, the ocean was a big part of village life. And that was precisely why Nova and I couldn't visit. There were times when I'd been able to go with my 'family' but it never as much fun as it was with Nova.

I found joy in the fact that we could now come down to the sea anytime that we wanted. I figured that we would try our best to enjoy the warm weather while we still could. I knew it would begin to get cold in the coming months. Listening to the seabirds cry, I thought about the times I'd laid in the sand and wished I could sail across the vast ocean. All I'd wanted then was to get away from the prison I'd once called home.

Back then, I used to always envy Nova. She had wings, and she could soar away from this horrible place. But I grew to love her for this, because even though she could, she still stayed with me.

If I had the chance, I would've gone far, far away from there without any second thoughts, as long as I could stay with Nova.

A warmth grew in my heart when I remembered where I was. Admittedly, it had taken years for Nova and I to find this place, but it had been well worth it. I had a family, a true family. I had friends. Nova had other dragons to play and interact with. It was more than I could've ever hoped for.

Smiling, I hauled myself off the rock, and let my feet sink into the soft sand, letting the cool water lap over my toes. A small patch of clouds dispersed above us, and a beam of sunlight filtered through, making the ocean sparkle.

I gently hummed a song Nova always loved, and enjoyed this moment of bliss. I tensed slightly when I sensed a presence behind me. I turned, and relaxed when I saw Destin making his way towards me. He wasn't looking at me. He seemed to be too busy kicking the small seashell at his feet.

When he was within five feet of me, he looked up, and a gentle smile pulled at his lips. His eyes reflected the waves and in that instant, he held the ocean in his eyes. It was hard to look away.

Blushing, I bit my lip and looked the way he came.

"Were you looking for me?" I asked. He had seemed to be lazily walking, but somehow I doubted he was taking a casual stroll down the beach. He nervously scratched the back of his head and laughed.

"Yeah. I just tried to make it look casual so it didn't seem like I was stalking you. Which I'm not by the way." He winked and I laughed. I faintly heard Nova splashing in the waves, and briefly wondered how she could still be eating.

"Well you found me. What's going on?" I could tell from his expression that he wanted to ask something.

"Well the gang was thinking about going cliff diving. We were wondering if you wanted to join." He looked hopeful. In reality, it didn't take longer than five seconds to think about it. I'd done far worse, so this couldn't be that bad.

"Sounds like fun. Is it far from here?" I asked. The beach was surrounded by cliffs, so I wasn't entirely sure of which one he was referring to.

"Not too far." He turned and pointed towards the cliff just west of where were standing. Looking closer, I could see the small outline of dragons on top of the cliff. I figured it would probably only take about five minutes to get there from where we currently were.

Looking back at his expectant eyes and I smiled.

"That sounds like a lot of fun."

A large grin pulled across his features. Giggling slightly, I turned back to Nova who had finally finished eating and was now walking up the shoreline to meet us.

"You really shouldn't eat that much, Nova. You'll hurt yourself." I patted her stomach, and it made a deep rumbling sound. I laughed and shook my head.

Climbing on her back, I held a hand out to Destin to climb on. I'd been about to take off when I realized that Cedric wasn't with him. He smiled and took my hand. Once situated on Nova, I patted her neck and we were airborne.

As I expected, it only took a few minutes to reach the rest of our friends. When we landed on top of the cliff, I saw each of our friends and their dragons. It didn't take long for me to see that it looked like they'd all been arguing. I knitted my eyebrows together and dismounted Nova.

"Is something wrong?" I noticed that Snotlout and Tuffnut were glaring at the others.

"As per our ritual, you're supposed to jump from the highest point." Tuffnut said in a slightly annoyed voice. I raised an eyebrow and looked to Hiccup and Astrid. Astrid rolled her eyes and Hiccup shot an annoyed look at Tuffnut.

"Hiccup, you've seen me jump off of Nova in midair. This isn't anything worse than that." I said. I wasn't sure was ritual Tuffnut was talking about, but I suspected it was a sort of "right of passage".

I saw Fishlegs staring over the side of the cliff and peering down at the water with a sick expression. Ruffnut stood close by looking annoyed at her brother.

In response, Hiccup shook his head. His face looked stressed.

"It's not the jumping part. I'm pretty sure you could handle that perfectly." He looked at Fishlegs. Seeing his sick expression, Hiccup's face grew tense. Astrid patted his arm and stepped a little closer to me, the same stressed expression on her face.

"The water is really rough today. You could jump, but the water might throw you around a lot." She said.

I saw the concerned look in her eyes, and noticed it in Hiccup's eyes too. I turned to look at Destin. He had made his way over to the edge. Peering over, I saw his eyebrows knit together. He turned back to me, his expression stony.

"Maybe you shouldn't do this today. You could get seriously hurt." He looked back at Hiccup for some back up.

Before he could speak up I shook my head.

"Destin, I can do this. I'm a strong swimmer." I said. I did my best to sounds strong and confident. I needed to show them I could do this. I needed to show them that I was one of them.

When he didn't look convinced, I smiled slightly.

"I'll be okay, I promise." I saw his face relax and I stepped towards my brother. Looking at Hiccup, I gave him a confident smiled. "Nova will be there if I need help." I reassured him. I gave him a quick hug before turning back to the others.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I smiled, trying to show them I wasn't scared.

Everyone looked at me with a concerned face, except Snotlout and Tuffnut. They just seemed impressed that I was actually going through with it.

I took my daggers off my belt and placed them on the ground, along with anything else that might be ruined. Once everything was finally off except for my pants and my light shirt, I took a few steps back from the edge of the cliff. I looked around and smiled at my friends.

Some of their expressions held encouragement, others concern. I could see that Destin still looked anxious. A heart warmed with the thought of him worry about me.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for what I was about to do. Getting a running start, I hurled myself off the cliff and half screamed/ half laughed on the way down.

When I saw the water approaching at a quick speed, I held my breath and the rush of cold water shocked me at first. After a few seconds, I realized the current was stronger near the surface, so I started to swim under the surface to avoid the wave and swam towards the shore.

I stopped swimming when I saw a glint in the water. Craning my neck, I saw it laying down in the sand about twenty feet from where I was.

Making a split decision, I swam up to the surface. I waved at my friends, so they'd know I wasn't drowning and took another gulp of air. Diving back down, I became worried that I'd lose the item, but after a few short seconds of surveying the murky depths, I saw the golden glint once more.

I dived down, kicking my legs at a steady pace to reach the bottom. The water didn't feel so cold now. It held more of a numbing sensation.

When I was only a few feet from it, my vision adjusted to the darkness and I could see that it was a necklace. Kicking my legs one more time I glided through the water, and gently picked it up from the sand. It was a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant. Wiping off some of the grime, I saw several intricate designs on the front of the heart.

When my lungs began to burn I gripped the necklace tight, and began to swim at an angle towards the shore. It didn't take long to reach the shallow water near the beach. The current was not so strong here, and I was able to surface effortlessly.

Looking around, I saw Nova farther out, surveying the water. I realized she probably thought I was still under. I brought my fingers to my mouth and whistled. Her head perked up, and she turned to face the noise.

She flew over within the span of a breath picked me up from where I was standing in the shin deep water. I laughed as she threw me up and I landed on my stomach, spread awkwardly across her back.

"Sorry for worrying you. But I found something!" I pulled myself up and steadied myself on her back. She let out a curious sounding growl at the mention of finding something.

"I'll show you a little later okay?" I smiled and scratched her neck gently as she glided back up to the top of the cliff. During our ascent, I uncurled my fingers and quickly placed the necklace around my neck, hiding it beneath my shirt.

When we reached the top of the cliff, everyone had huge smiles on their faces. Nova landed in the grass next to Toothless, and I climbed off.

Destin was the first to reach me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around, both of us laughing the entire time. When he set me down, I hugged Hiccup and then Astrid. A high five and a thumbs up came from Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs. Snotlout gave me an impressed look and a high five.

Smiling, I turned to Hiccup and laughed.

"Okay, I'm freezing now. Let's go home." He laughed and nodded. I threw a smile at Destin as I got on Nova. He smiled back, and I watched him mount Cedric.

Nova was the first to take off, and I urged her to fly high, I wanted to be above the clouds for a little while.

After making it through the worst of the clouds, I could finally see the sun. It was starting to set, and the world around me was littered with yellows and oranges that danced across the fluffy clouds.

As Nova glided, I leaned forward and rested on my elbows. I pulled the necklace off and started to look at it a bit closer.

There were flowers etched into the heart, their stems winding and twisting into knots. It was beautifully made, and I briefly wondered how it ended up there.

I took a deep breath, smiled slightly to myself, and placed the necklace around my neck once more.

Nova and I flew below the clouds once more and joined the others. I was glad they hadn't come up looking for us.

Nova glided in between Toothless and Cedric. She stuck her tongue out of her mouth, and Toothless looked over and did the same. I giggled at them. I was glad she liked Toothless. I hoped one day they would no longer be the last ones.

I felt a gaze, and turned from Toothless and Nova to see Destin staring at me. His blue eyes shined and he smiled at me. I couldn't help the small blush that spread to my cheeks. I returned the smile and looked back to Nova who was looking at me with a curious expression. I rolled my eyes playfully at her and she did the same. Laughing, I felt my heart grow warm, happy that we'd found our home.

Later that night, I sat with Nova on her stone platform in my room. She would often light a circle of fire around her before laying down for the night, so the stone platform was a good innovation on Hiccup's part. Like we usually had done when we lived on our own, I curled up next to her stomach. She curled around so her head was only a foot or so away from mine.

At the moment, I was leaning against her stomach, the necklace in hand. She looked up at me from her head that laid on the ground. I'd showed her the necklace and she'd pawed at it like it was a toy.

Now I held it in my hands and just looked at it. I turned it around and saw nothing particularly special on the back, but noticed there was a small clasp on the side. I quickly realized it wasn't a pendant, but a locket.

I looked back at Nova with a confused look. She grumbled a little and looked at the locket. I looked back at it and gently pried it open.

My eyes widened slightly at the soft melody pouring out of the locket. There was a very tiny music box on the right half of the pendant. It must've taken a delicate hand to craft something like this. The melody was beautiful, and so tragically familiar. The soft notes pulled at my heart, and I felt the urge to sing the words. I knew there were words…they were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't voice them. It was as if I'd heard the song before, but it was long forgotten.

Then I noticed the letters engraved on the left side of the heart. An _H_ and an _I._ I wondered what those letters meant. I decided that the more trivial questions could wait until tomorrow.

Closing my eyes and leaning my head against Nova's side, I listened to the melody until it ended, and then reopened it to listen to the song again. After the second time, I closed the locket, and placed it around my neck once again.

Standing up from Nova's platform, I kissed her head and made my way back to my own bed. I blew out the candle on my night stand and looked out at the moon from my window. I sighed and laid my body on the bed before quickly falling asleep.

That night, I dreamed of a face. It was a dragon's face, but it wasn't any dragon I'd ever seen before. I'd dreamt of this dragon time and time again, but whenever I woke, the image faded away. Its face was wide, and its eyes curiously looking over me and whatever was crying next to me.

The remnants of a lullaby drifted through my room.

_My dearest one, my darling dear…_

**Author's Note:**__Updated July 2 2015. Hope you guys like the story so far (:


	6. Happy Name Day!

**Edited July 3 2015**

**Disclaimer- I do not own HTTYD, as much as I wish I did.**

It had been about two months since I'd found my way back home. Two amazing months with a family I never knew I had, and more happiness than I'd ever had in my entire life.

Over the course of those two months, I'd become accustomed to Berk. Winter was just beginning to set in, and the days were starting to get colder and colder. I had to admit it was much nicer to have a warm bed to sleep in on cold nights. On lazy days, I'd adventure into the woods and find peace in the solitude of the forest. I'd bring my new sketchbook, a gift from Hiccup, and I'd draw everything I saw. I'd draw the birds, the plants, and the animals. Destin would often accompany me, and I found that sketching him was something I yearned to do.

I had managed to form coherent drawings of everyone else. There were times when I'd sit with Hiccup and watch intently as he made plans for a new tool to use around Berk. If he stayed still for the right amount of time, I could capture everything perfectly. I could draw the way his mouth twitched when he created something spectacular.

He'd often asked me why I drew everything. Why I had such an interest for it. My only response was that a small piece of everyone would be in this book, and if I was ever lost, I could find some type of peace.

I sketched the dragons while they were still. On sleepless nights I'd find myself in the dragon stables. Nova often accompanied me, and since the other dragons seemed to be entirely comfortable around me, I would sketch them. By this point, I'd successfully drawn every type of dragon on the island. My father said that if any new dragons were discovered, that I was to be given the honor of drawing them for the Book of Dragons.

Destin was someone I had trouble trying to sketch. He never sat still. He was always doing something that required him to move around. It was a game in my mind, trying to piece together parts of the drawing from memory or when he was still for a few seconds.

On other days, I trained with Astrid. She taught me how to fight the way they did on Berk. Most of those skills had been used for killing dragons a few years back, but this mainly so I could protect myself should I ever find myself in danger.

Astrid quickly became one of my best friends. She was an intent listener and we laughed a lot together. On days we didn't train, we would simply spend time around each other.

I'd become quite close to all of my friends on Berk. Sometimes I'd spend the day with Fishlegs and he'd teach me all he knew about dragons. On most nights I'd bring home the Book of Dragons and sketch into my notebook the different types. It amazed me that there were so many different species and categories. I couldn't wait to fill out the remaining pages of the book with brand new species.

Snotlout often told me embarrassing stories of Hiccup before Toothless came along. This bought a lot of sarcastic remarks from Hiccup, but it was something I'd missed out on, plus it made me laugh sometimes.

I often spent time with my father. He taught me about the customs of Berk. He showed me where everything was and everything that went on here. I enjoyed learning about my home, and on rare occasions, I convinced him to tell me about my mother.

Although I wasn't much of a prankster, it was enjoyable to listen to Ruffnut and Tuffnut talk about the tricks they'd pulled. I was a little surprised when they told me they'd practically dedicated their life to Loki.

Nevertheless, I'd built a life in Berk, and there was no place I'd rather be.

Today came as quite a surprise to me. It had been a normal day, I woke up with the sun and began getting ready for the day. I walked down the wooden steps of my home, Nova trailing behind me, to find brightly colored decorations everywhere. There were blues, yellows, greens, and reds. Decorations of every color splayed across the sitting room of my home.

My father and Hiccup were nowhere to be found. I searched the rooms and couldn't find a trace. I decided that they'd probably gone out fix something or do other dutiful things. I shrugged my shoulders and scratched Nova on the head.

I looked around in the cabinets for something to eat. When I found nothing, I turned on my heel and looked at Nova.

"Well girl, there's nothing to eat here…wanna go find something for you?" I smiled when she seemed hardly able to contain her excitement. I laughed and walked towards the door of our home.

Morning light poured through the door as I opened it. As my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, I realized that there were several people standing in front of me. They all seemed to notice that I'd come out of the house because they all smiled and yelled

"Happy Name day!"

My eyes widened in surprise. I turned to look around me to see if they were addressing someone else. How could they know it was my name day? _I_ didn't even know when my name day was. I almost smacked my forehead when I realized that Hiccup and I were born on the same day.

The people in front of my home consisted of my friends, Astrid, Destin, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Hiccup, and also my father and Gobber.

I blushed slightly and found myself at a loss for words. My father swept towards me and enveloped me in a tight hug. I returned it happily. He released me and gestured for Hiccup to come forward.

"Happy name day children. We will hold a great celebration today!" My father bellowed. I looked at Hiccup and giggled. He was rolling his eyes sarcastically at me.

After my father released me, all of my friends came up to Hiccup and I and we all started discussing everything that was going to take place today.

"This will be our third annual dragon race for Hiccup's name day!" Astrid exclaimed. She clapped her hands lightly and looked to Hiccup. Hiccup scratched the back of his head.

"I got to choose what everyone did on my name day, and I chose a dragon race. Since it's also your name day, is there anything special you'd like to do Erin?" Hiccup asked. I shrugged and smiled at him. We had started walking while he was talking, and I realize that we were heading towards the stadium.

"I didn't really have a lot of time to think about this." I laughed.

"Well what are some things you really like?" Astrid asked, looking back at me from her spot beside Hiccup. I bit my lip and tried to think of something.

"Well…I like music." I looked back up at Astrid and Hiccup. Hiccup smiled and looked ahead to our father.

"You hear that Dad? How about a music performance for Erin?" he said. My father turned to look at me with a contemplative look. I could tell he was thinking about plans and times for the day.

"I think we could do that. Is that what you'd like Erin?" He smiled and I nodded.

"Then it is settled. This evening there will be a musical performance in honor of my daughter's name day." He announced loudly. I laughed shyly and looked at Hiccup who had a huge grin on his face.

I fell back from the group as we continued walking and walked next to Destin. He smirked and looked down at me.

"How are you on this fine day, Princess?" He said, giving me a wink. I laughed and nudged him with my arm. He knew I didn't like being called "princess", so naturally, it's all that he calls me.

"Well it's my name day. I've yet to see what the day will bring." I smiled up at him. The wind decided to pick up speed and a few locks of auburn hair went rogue and were splayed over my face. I worked to put them in place and I noticed Destin staring at me with a stupid grin.

"What?" I asked, raising my brows. He seemed to come out of a daze and shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing." He smirked. I rolled my eyes playfully and looked to where we were headed. The stadium had several colorful flags displayed around it. From what I could see, they represented each team that would be competing in the dragon races. I momentarily wondered where Nova had gone off to. She must've ran off with Toothless when I wasn't paying attention.

Touching my arm lightly, Destin broke me out of my thought. I looked up into his crystal blue eyes and smiled.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked me. I watched him idly play with something in his opposite hand.

"Just wondering where Nova ran off to. She was right behind me when I came out of the house…but I haven't seen her since then." I wasn't really worried about where she'd gone off too. I didn't doubt that Toothless would keep her safe.

"Oh…well I'm sure she's fine. Hey, I got you something for today." I was surprised to hear that. I hadn't been expecting anything from anyone. I hadn't even been expecting it to be my name day.

What he gave me was what he'd been toying with in his hand. He placed it in my open hand and when his skin touched mine it felt as if a million tiny bonfires were erupting over my hand. I blushed and looked down at the small wooden carving. It was a dragon. To be more precise, it was Nova. It was colored to look exactly like her. The thin blue-black lines that covered her body, and even the green of her eyes was perfectly matched.

I looked back up at him, and I saw him looking at me with a nervous smile.

"Did you make this?" I asked in amazement. I turned it over in my hand, wondering how he could've made such an intricate thing in such detail.

"Yeah…I've been working on it for a little while…my dad taught me how to carve when I was little." He scratched the back of his head nervously. I smiled up at him.

"Thank you, Destin. I love it." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He seemed a little dazed when I pulled back. I smiled to myself and began walking towards the stadium again where our friends were waiting.

Walking into the stadium, I was able to get a better look at the flags that were flying. They were all different kinds of colors. Getting a closer look at who was in the stadium, I saw all of my friends and their dragons in the middle of the arena. I didn't know that Destin and I had lagged behind so much. I quickly became confused when I saw Nova among them.

"Wait you guys are doing the racing? I thought it was other people?" I walked over to Nova and she nudged my arm playfully. She seemed to be pretty hyped up.

Hiccup was in the middle of painting red marks on Toothless. He was already sporting red marks on his face. I assumed that mean the red and black flag was meant for him and Toothless. Astrid and Stormfly had blue and orange marks. Fishlegs and Meatlug had green and orange marks. Snotlout had red and yellow. Ruffnut and Barf had blue and yellow. And Tuffnut and Belch had yellow and black. I noted that the other flag was black and green. I realized that must've been for Destin and Cedric.

"No, trust me. This is way cooler than just watching." Hiccup finished painting Toothless' wings and walked over to me. I smiled.

"Well how do you play?" I asked. Nova seemed to get more excited with my question and I realized she probably wanted to participate. I scratched her head and listened intently to Hiccup.

"Well there are certain sheep around the island that have targets painted on them. Your job is to grab those sheep and get them into your hole over there that has your sign on it. If by the end there's a tie, they release the black sheep. The black sheep is the tie-breaker, and usually whoever gets it is the winner." I nodded with a smile. It did seem like a lot of fun.

Hiccup eyed me playfully. I hadn't seen him pick up the small bowl near him, and it was too late when he smeared yellow all over my face. I laughed hysterically and wiped some of it off.

"Looks like payback time big bro!" I threatened. He put his hands up in mock defense and laughed.

"Why don't you race with us, Erin?" Destin asked from a few feet away. He now had yellow and green marks on his face. I looked at all my friends who seemed eager for my answer.

I smiled brightly. "I might as well have some fun on my name day."

Nova bounded over and knocked me to the ground, licking my face.

"Nova!..." I giggled. "C'mon! That's tough to get out!" I laughed a little more and fake punched her in the chin. She fell over "dead" next to me until I threw myself on top of her, still laughing.

"You ready to race, girl?" She looked back at me with her tongue hanging out her mouth open as if she were grinning. I got up off of her and looked to Hiccup.

"What colors should we be?" I asked him. Every other dragon and their rider had different colors to represent them.

Astrid came up then with Stormfly in tow. She took me by the arm and led me over to the different colors there were.

"You can pick whichever ones you want. They just have to be different from everyone else." She told me. I nodded and looked at the different assortment of colors. I saw yellow, red, green, blue, black, and orange.

"I think I'll pick red and blue. I like those colors." Astrid nodded with a smile and handed me the red bowl. She carried the blue bowl over to where Nova was.

We painted some designs on her, and then on my face. We both looked ready to win.

"I'm pretty sure this is hardly fair. There's two Night Fury's" I heard Snotlout grumble. I laughed and looked over to where he was sitting on Hookfang.

"Don't worry Snotlout, we'll go easy on you." I shouted. Astrid and Ruffnut laughed, but Snotlout didn't look too amused.

I watched as more and more people filled the stadium. Their cheering grew louder, and it soon had my heart pounding like a drum in time to the cheers. Climbing on top of Nova, I watched everyone else secure themselves on their dragons.

I watched as my father took his place at the front of the stadium. He must be the one that oversees the race. Before he spoke, I took my locket out from under my shirt. I looked at it and smiled. I figured it could be a sort of good luck charm. When my father began speaking to the crowd, I placed it back inside my shirt and listened intently.

"This is a very special day! As many of you know, my daughter, and Hiccup's twin sister has returned to us!" The crowd erupted in roars. I blushed slightly, never having felt this important before. I looked at Destin and he winked at me.

"On this very special day, we celebrate the birth of Hiccup and Irina! It is by Hiccup's choice that we hold this annual dragon race. And with that being said, it's about time for the race to begin!" If it was at all possible, the crowd grew louder and more restless.

I readied myself in Nova's saddle, gripping onto the sides tightly. I leaned over and whispered to her… "We've got this in the bag, Nova." She shook her head slightly and made a rumbling noise.

Looking back at my father, I saw him raise his hand up.

"Let the race begin!"

**Author's Note:** Edited on July 3 2015. I should have new chapters coming up soon. Thanks for the support guys! (:


	7. More Than I Could Ask

Oooohh Here's the big race! Hope everyone likes! (:

**Disclaimer:** I do not own HTTYD. As much as I wish I could :/ Toothless would be all mine ^-^

"On this very special day, we celebrate the birth of Hiccup and Irina! It is by Hiccup's choice that we hold this annual dragon race. And with that being said, it's about time for the race to begin!" If it was at all possible, the crowd grew louder and more restless. I realized the race was about to start.

I readied myself in Nova's saddle, gripping onto the sides tightly. I leaned over and whispered to her… "We've got this in the bag, Nova." She shook her head slightly and made a rumbling noise.

Looking back at my father, I saw him raise his hand up.

"Let the race begin!"

Like an arrow shot from a bow, Nova took off. I quickly scanned my surroundings and saw that Hiccup and Toothless were right behind us, and Astrid and Stormfly were to my right. It seemed this might be more difficult than I thought it would.

I urged Nova to fly lower to the ground in order to get a better look for targets. She wound in between houses like they were nothing and I kept my eyes peeled for anything that looked like a sheep.

When we rounded a corner of a house, I immediately saw a group of sheep huddling nervously together. What I also saw was Ruffnut and Tuffnut closing in on the same group of sheep. Nova must've also seen them because she flapped her wings for a burst of speed. It was easy to assume we'd make it there first.

As we closed in on the group, I prepared to lean over to catch the only one with the target drawn on it. It was on the right side of the group and staring up at Ruffnut as if she was going to eat it. Before Barf and Belch could reach the sheep, I leaned over to grab him.

Unfortunately, I seemed to lose my balance, and as soon as I had the sheep in my grasp, I slid off of Nova. I rolled a few feet with the sheep still in my arms. I had to dodge the twin's dragon so they wouldn't catch the sheep.

Right before they were about to succeed in stealing the sheep from me, Nova came zooming around the corner of a small home. I laughed excitedly and started running. When she got close, I grabbed on and swung my legs around her and we were off.

Nova did a complete turnaround in the air and headed straight towards the basket that had our colors adorned on it. As soon as we got close I plunged the sheep down and realized I'd just won my first point.

"Wooh!" I laughed loudly as Nova zoomed off again in search of another sheep.

It didn't take long for us to find another sheep. The only problem was that it was already being occupied. And it was being occupied by Destin nonetheless. I smiled and patted Nova's side.

"You know what to do, girl." She grumbled in what sounded like laughter. I held on a little bit tighter this time so that I wouldn't fall out of the saddle.

As we got closer and closer to Destin and Cedric, I felt Nova rise above them. When we were right over top of them, she corkscrewed and I was able to grab the sheep right out of Destin's hands. Nova righted herself and flew higher and made a wide turn to head back to the baskets.

"Prepare for some payback, Princess!" He laughed and I turned around and made a face at him.

"Oh so that's how it's gonna be!" He screamed. I laughed hysterically as they chased us towards the baskets. I hadn't been paying attention to who was winning, but it looked like Astrid and Hiccup were tied for first.

I dumped another sheep into the basket and Nova flew in place and faced Destin. He had a fake angry face on that I couldn't help but laugh at. This was the most fun I'd had in years…maybe in forever.

I heard a large horn blow in the distance and I looked around wondering where it had come from. When I turned back to Destin, I was surprised to find that he had already taken off.

"Oh that means the black sheep! C'mon Nova!" She raced towards where Destin had headed. While we were flying towards Destin, I saw a black sheep launch into the air about a hundred feet ahead of us. If I hadn't been racing to get to the sheep right now, I probably would've doubled over laughing.

Unfortunately for both me and Destin, Hiccup was the first to reach the black sheep. Toothless came rushing above the rooftops at such a speed it was hard to see him. As soon as he had the sheep within his grasp, Toothless shot up in to the clouds so high that he disappeared.

When he shot back down, he was weaving and winding in between all the other competitors and I soon realized that no one stood a chance. When I turned to make a joke with Destin, I found that he was once again gone. Turning almost all the way around in Nova's saddle, I pondered where he could've gotten off too.

"Maybe he thinks he can catch Hiccup?" I asked no one in particular. Nova glided effortlessly towards the other competitors who were in a mad scramble to chase Hiccup. I laughed lightly to myself.

As Nova lazily glided around a corner, I spotted Cedric and Destin hiding behind one of the houses. Nova perched on a house a ways behind so that we could watch. Hiccup and Toothless were headed right towards them and I wondered what exactly Destin was planning.

As they got closer and closer, Destin got off of Cedric and got down into a crouching position.

"No…is he really…?" I voiced. I never finished my sentence.

When Toothless was a mere ten feet from Destin, he jumped off the roof and landed effortlessly on Toothless' back. I gasped aloud, my heart almost faltering from thinking he could fall.

He was quick to steal the sheep from Hiccup's grasp and jump off and onto Cedric who had been flying below.

"Aw c'mon!" I heard Hiccup yell. I laughed at that and Nova took off after Destin and Cedric. As he got closer to the baskets, I saw Astrid come around the corner with Stormfly, probably trying to steal the sheep back. Her plan didn't work though.

Destin dumped the black sheep into the netting and the horn sounded that signaled the end of the game. Destin had two points before the black sheep and now he had twelve, putting him in first place above everyone else.

He didn't try to cover his enthusiasm and neither did anyone else. Everyone was laughing and cheering.

The rest of the day was spent participating in several other festivities around Berk. I spent a lot of time with my friends and we laughed a lot. At one point, many of the children came and started admiring our dragons. One little girl in particular practically fell in love with Nova. She had to have been only four or five years old.

I had been sitting down with Nova laying behind me, her coiled around mine like a snakes. The little girl, Adriana, had walked up and stood right in front of Nova's face. Nova had swiveled her head and the girl had laughed hysterically. Nova spent quite a bit entertaining her.

Most of the time she would lay there and put her tail in between them and play a peek-a-boo game with Adriana. It was an adorable sight to see. While I watched them, I made a small flower crown out of the small wildflowers around us. After a little while of playing, Adriana fell asleep and I placed the crown on her head. I smiled warmly at the sight. Adriana had her arms wrapped around Nova's front leg and it didn't look like she'd be letting go any time soon.

Once I was sure she wouldn't stir, I slowly untangled her arms from around Nova and I picked her up in my arms. I walked over to where her mother had been waiting for a while, watching her daughter.

"Adriana is welcome to come play with Nova whenever she wants. She's a sweet girl." I ruffled her hair lightly. Her mother smiled appreciatively.

"Adriana's always been scared of dragons. I was quite surprised when she wanted to see yours. I'm hoping she won't be so afraid anymore. Thank you, Irina." Her mother said. I nodded my head and smiled. I watched her retreating figure and turned when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I turned to see Hiccup smiling at me.

"I guess someone is pretty good with the kids." He joked. I laughed softly.

"I guess I'm just a kid at heart." I observed that the sun was beginning to set on Berk. The oranges and reds of the evening sky never ceased to amaze me.

"So we're going to be heading to the Great Hall soon to eat. Dad said that there's going to be a music performance in your honor." He said as he nudged my arm. I smiled and nudged him back.

"That sounds amazing. I wish I could tell you how nice it is to have a family to celebrate with. Thank you, Hiccup. You and our father have given me all I ever wished for." I wrapped my arms around his waist for a brief moment. He hugged me back and chuckled when my stomach growled.

"Well I guess that's our cue." He laughed. I nodded and smiled when I saw our friends headed towards us. Together, we made our way to the Great Hall. Nova followed behind us, walking with Toothless, Cedric, Stormfly, Hookfang, Barf & Belch, and Meatlug. I even saw Skullcrusher, my father's dragon, following farther behind.

As we neared the entrance of the great hall, all of our dragons raced ahead of us. I soon saw that there were several large piles of fish. I smiled at the happy dragons as we walked through the massive doors of the Great Hall.

When we entered through the doors, I saw my father sitting at the head of a very large table. I smiled as I neared him and he stood from his place to envelop Hiccup and I in a hug. After he released us from his strong embrace, we sat on either side of him at the table. Destin sat to my right, with Fishlegs and Ruffnut on his other side. Astrid sat next to Hiccup, with Snotlout and Tuffnut on her other side.

As we had our food and the night went on, I listened to my father retell stories from past years. I listened with rapt attention. I always enjoyed when people would tell me things that happened before I arrived here. I found it a blessing that in the years to come, I would be a part of those wonderful stories.

We also heard a music performance from of Berk's finest singers and players. They were absolutely amazing and I felt so privileged that they were singing for my name day.

After everyone else in the dining hall had their fill of food and entertainment, they decided it was time to go home and rest for the night. My friends and I decided to stay back a little bit longer and recap the race from earlier.

There ended up being some playful arguing between everyone, but in the end, it was only fun.

I'd smiled and laughed today more than I had in what seemed my entire life.

When it seemed we'd all had enough of each other for the night, we all returned to our homes to get some well needed rest.

Though, when everyone headed to their homes, I decided I'd go see Nova in the stables. She'd been there with me every year since I was younger. I may not have known when my name day was, but we celebrated at random times once a year.

Walking up the hill towards the dragon stables, I couldn't help but notice how brightly the stars were shining. I smiled and gazed at them, forming patterns in my mind like I often had as a child.

When I reached the stables, I walked around in search of the small cubby hole that Nova had claimed. When I finally got to it, she lifted her head and grumbled at me. I smiled and sat down on the blanket that she was laying on.

I'd often bring her things here for when she didn't stay with me at my home. She had a blanket, a few of my sketches of her and the other dragons hung on the walls, and her saddle. She wasn't accustomed to wearing it yet so she only ever wore it when we were racing.

I scratched her scales in the crease of her neck and she grumbled again and placed her head on my lap.

"Today was my name day, Nova. For the first time, I know on what day I was born. This is pretty big for me if you haven't noticed." I poked her head lightly and she stuck her tongue out. I giggled and continued scratching her scales.

I eventually pulled out my locket and opened it. The sweet melody drifted through the small outcropping. I closed my eyes and listened to the familiar tune.

The song was imbedded in my brain. Even though I'd listened to it countless times, it was not memorization that gave it the place in my mind. I knew this song, and I'd known it for as long as I could remember.

I hummed it softly to Nova until I got to the only part whose lyrics I could comprehend.

"My dearest one, my darling dear." I sang in almost a whisper. It tugged on my heart every time I heard it, yet I felt as if I'd be searching the rest of my life for the rest of the song. Often I'd remember a few words, but as soon as I tried to recall them or write them on paper, I'd forget everything. It was so blatantly frustrating.

As the melody came to an end, I closed the locket and let the pendant fall atop my collar bone. I took a deep breath and sagged against Nova. I was content to stay the night in here. I closed my eyes for a few seconds until I felt Nova's head pick up from off my lap.

Opening my eyes, I turned my gaze in the direction she was looking. Walking towards us with a large, dazzling smile on his face was Destin. He waved at me as soon as we made eye contact and I felt a smile stretch across my face.

"Hey Princess. What mischief are you up to in here?" He joked. My smile grew wilder as he stepped into Nova's little room.

"No mischief. Just spending time with Nova." I rubbed her head affectionately. "We used to celebrate at random times of the year. I never knew what day I was born on." I smiled sadly, watching Nova.

I saw him scrunch his brow. He sat down next to me and laid a warm hand on mine. I realized that this was becoming normal for us. I liked the way my hand felt in his.

"I'm sorry that you were forced to live like that. It must've been terrible." Looking down at my hand under his, I pulled it away gently.

Although I knew that I liked him, something made me feel scared. Like I shouldn't get to close to anyone.

"Erin?" When I looked into his eyes, they held a sadness not unlike my own. I wondered briefly if he'd experienced some of the same things I had.

"No one here would ever hurt you the way they did." I knew that he was referring to my other "family" who had done nothing but break me down. It was almost like he was reading my mind. I nodded. I knew everyone here was happy to see me.

"I would never hurt you…" I looked up at him once again and my heart started to beat wildly at our proximity. His eyes searched mine for any trace of unwillingness. His hand moved to cup my cheek gently and our lips grew closer and closer.

"Erin?!" I heard Hiccup shout from the entrance of the dragon stables. I pulled away from Destin awkwardly and stood up. I walked to the edge of Nova's little room and spotted Hiccup and Toothless looking around.

"I'm up here, Hiccup!" I shouted and he looked up and smiled. He was about to open his mouth to speak when I felt Nova move to stand beside me. She grumbled when she saw Toothless and she shook out her scales. He was definitely her favorite dragon.

Hiccup leaned against Toothless. "Well c'mon! Dad and I have a surprise for you!"

I heard Destin get up from where he'd been sitting and come to stand next to Nova.

"I'll make sure she gets home safely, Hiccup." Destin assured him. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at me then gave me a little knowing smile.

"Okay, just don't be too long. C'mon bud." Hiccup patted Toothless' head and walked back out of the stables.

I turned to Destin awkwardly, my cheeks still hot from our near kiss seconds ago. He smiled a crooked smile and took my hand.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" He chuckled at my awkward expression. He started walking and Nova followed us. I figured it would be nice if she stayed with me tonight.

We walked back hand in hand to my home. We were silent the whole way, but it wasn't at all unsettling.

When we arrived at the front door, he stopped walking and looked at me again.

"Goodnight, Princess." He gave me another crooked smile and lifted his hand to touch my cheek. I wasn't expecting him to bend in to kiss where his hand had previously been caressing my face. I smiled warmly and when he pulled away. He smiled at me one last time and lowered his hand to his side. He gave me another crooked smile and then turned to walk back to his home.

I stood in front of my house, still blushing, until Destin was no longer visible in the starry night. I touched my cheek and smiled. Nova made an odd noise in the back of her throat and she nudged my free hand lightly.

I patted her head and turned to open the large door to my house. The soft light from inside enveloped me as Nova and I walked into the house. I didn't realize that Hiccup, Toothless, and my father were sitting patiently in the sitting room until I turned around from closing the door.

"Oh! Er, Hi. Um… I thought maybe Nova could stay with me tonight since it's my name day…is that okay?" I stumbled on my words and struggled to find something to say. I looked to my father for his answer. He was smiling at me and then he nodded.

"Oh course. She's welcome here any time." I smiled and nodded, looking at Nova who was capturing Toothless' attention. I suddenly remembered why I was home at all tonight and not back at the stables. Turning to my brother, I smiled in anticipation.

"Hiccup? You said you both had a surprise for me?" I clasped my hands together in excitement and both of their faces lit up.

"Well since it's your first name day with us as a family, we thought we would get you a few things." Hiccup smiled and walked around the corner to grab some things.

When he returned and I saw some of the things in his hands, I smiled the biggest smile of the day.

The first thing Hiccup came back with was a brand new bow. I'd often talked to Hiccup about my archery skills when I was younger. When I left my home, I brought my bow with me. Unfortunately, it didn't take me too long to out-grow it.

During my training sessions with Astrid, I'd used a bow and she'd been thoroughly impressed.

_I wonder if her and Hiccup collaborated on this?_

"Hiccup this is amazing!" I beamed as he handed me the beautifully crafted bow. Inspecting it carefully, I saw my name engraved on the bow in a very elegant script.

"Hiccup and Astrid came to me several weeks ago saying that you were very skilled with a bow and arrow. It took a few days of strenuous work, but luckily we had it done in time for today." My father beamed at me. I smiled and walked over to give him a loving hug.

Turning to Hiccup, I smiled. "If you see Astrid before me, please make sure to tell her I said thank you. This is more than I could've ever asked for."

Hiccup had several other small gifts for me that just as appreciated as the bow. He gave me a new sketchbook since mine was beginning to overflow, and a small charm bracelet that had tiny figurines of all of our dragons. Besides the bow, it was definitely my favorite.

"Did Destin make these figurines?" I asked, currently investigating the charm that looked like Toothless. Hiccup raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Yeah, actually. How did you know that?" He asked a little confused. Smiling, I reached into one of the pockets of my pants and pulled out the tiny Nova figurine that Destin had given me earlier that day.

"He gave this to me this morning before the race." I smiled and held the Nova figurine and the charm bracelet in my right hand.

"Well I was wondering why there was no charm for Nova." He chuckled. I smiled as Hiccup helped me put the bracelet on my wrist. Whenever I moved my hand, it jingled as the small charms clanged against each other.

Nova walked over and I saw her eyes widen at the chain around my wrist. I almost giggled at her entranced expression.

"Well, it seems about time to get some shut-eye. Happy name day." My father said with a yawn. Before retiring for the night, he swept the both of us up into a bone-crushing hug. We both laughed and let us go. He turned with a wink and went up to sleep.

It didn't take much longer for Hiccup and I to follow up the stairs, accompanied by Nova and Toothless.

I opened the door to my room, but before I walked inside, I heard Hiccup speak from across the hall.

"He likes you, you know." He said quietly. I felt myself blush when I realized he was talking about Destin.

Turning to face Hiccup, I saw that he was standing in the doorway of his own room, Toothless had already gone inside. Nova was by my side and nuzzling my free hand.

In the smallest voice I could manage, I said "Do you really think so? I'm a little damaged if you hadn't noticed…" Somewhere inside me I knew that Destin liked me, and I knew that I liked him too. But could he really want to be with someone with as much emotional baggage as me?

"So is he." I hadn't realized I'd been looking at the ground until Hiccup said those three words. I looked back up and saw a small smile on his lips.

"I want you to be happy, Erin. That's all that matters. I can tell that you like him too. I know you've had a hard time believing that you belong here. But you belong with us. We're you're family. So just don't forget to let yourself be happy." His smile grew and I nodded with a small smile.

"Goodnight, Hiccup." I smiled and stepped into my room, Nova following close behind me.

"Goodnight, Erin." I heard him say before I closed my door.

Taking in a deep breath, I walked over to my nightstand filled with clothes and picked out something to sleep in. When I was comfortable I took the blanket from my bed and walked over to Nova's platform and laid down against her.

"Nova, you like Destin, right?" I said with a small smile. She licked my hand lightly and I chuckled.

What Hiccup had said was true, I'd had trouble believing this was real. Sometimes I felt as if the entirety of this paradise was going to be ripped from my grasp.

I'd talked to Hiccup about this on several occasions in the past few months when neither of us could sleep. He'd told me time and time again that this was real, and that I was really here.

This time I believed him. This time I'd let my walls down and I'd let myself be happy with no reason to fear the future. My family would be with me for forever.

With my anxiety set aside, I closed my eyes and laid my head against Nova's shoulder. It wasn't long until I drifted off to sleep.

**Hey guys, so hopefully in the next few chapters we'll be getting into the storyline of the movie. Hope you guys are liking it so far. For anyone who's been reading the stories, I made some changes to the previous chapters so you might want to re-read. Much love! **


	8. The Dream

**Hey guys, here's chapter 8! Hope you enjoy !**

**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD!**

In the late hours of the night, I dreamt.

_I knew somewhere in my subconscious that the dragon I was seeing right now was the same dragon I'd seen every time I'd had this dream. It was the same dragon whose face I could never seem to remember as soon as I woke up. _

_I was in someone's arms. I realized I must have been small in the dream…a baby most likely. After all, I could hear crying, but I couldn't be totally sure if it was coming from me. Their arms were warm and they were holding me firmly to their chest. I could even feel a slight tremor running through my holder. I could see that they were actually only holding me with one arm. The other was holding a sword, pointed at the dragon. _

_The dragon I'd seen in my dreams so many times before was looking above me at whoever was holding me. Involuntarily, I made a noise that sounded like a baby's giggle and reached up to try and touch the dragon. _

_The dragon seemed curious of the person. Their eyes wide and searching. I could faintly hear the low gurgling coming from its throat. When I finally looked up at who had the dragon so entranced, I saw a woman. The image was blurry, but I could clearly see the beautiful blue-green of her eyes. I could also see a shimmering around her neck, which I assumed was a necklace. She was watching the dragon with an anxious expression, which soon changed to cautious curiosity._

_Before I could take another breath, a large axe was forced between us and the dragon. In a heartbeat, the dragon's demeanor changed from curious to violent. _

_Soon, all I saw was fire. Great flames that torched everything around us. I heard shouting from a man who I assume was the one who threw the axe. The woman clutched me tighter and I started to cry. _

"_Valka!" _

I jolted awake with a gasp, and frantically looked around my room. Nova had picked her head up from her sleeping area and was looking at me with a concerned look. I didn't realize I was crying until I felt a teardrop on my arm. I hastily wiped it away and brought my knees to my chest.

Nova walked over and placed her head on the edge of my bed, looking up at me with her gorgeous eyes. I placed my hand on her head and tried to calm my racing heart.

For the first time, I was able to recollect the dragon's face. I remembered the woman's eyes and the way she held me. I remember a man shouting her name.

"Valka…" I said aloud. It was my mother's name. It didn't take me long to discern that the woman who'd been holding me was my mother. That dream was actually a memory…of the night we were both taken from our family.

Nova's head perked up when a soft knock came from my door.

"Come in." I spoke just loud enough so they could hear me.

When the door opened, Hiccup walked in with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Hey are you okay? It sounded like you were having a nightmare."

I nodded and wiped my face one more time.

"I did have a nightmare but I'm okay." My voice probably sounded really unconvincing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked reassuringly. I nodded and he gave me a half smile.

"Well come on, let's go in my room so Nova can get back to sleep." He said with a small chuckle.

When I looked down at her, her eyelids were half closed and still drooping. Smiling, I scratched her head.

"You can go back to sleep, Nova. I'll be right across the hall." She stuck out her tongue very slightly and then lumbered back over to her platform and laid her body back down.

I let out a deep sigh and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. I stood up and followed Hiccup quietly into his room. He had a candle lit near his desk, and I could tell he'd been up all night. As he sat down in the chair in front of his desk, I observed what he was working on.

"Still making changes on your flying suit?" I asked with a slight smile. He chuckled and nodded.

"Eventually it'll work right. But I'm also working on this." He uncovered a blueprint for something that looked like the hilt of a sword.

"What's that?" I picked up the blueprint and examined it.

"Well it can be used as a weapon, but it can also be used to gain a dragon's trust." He said proudly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Usually weapons and a dragon's trust don't really mix." I handed him the blueprints and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Well inside of it is going to be a blade. The blade can be coated with saliva from a Monstrous Nightmare. So when you spark a flame, it'll be a flaming blade. As you know, dragons love fire. So this could make them curious instead of violent. The other side can spray the gas from a Hideous Zippleback, so again, when sparked, it can cause an explosion. You never know when something like this might come in handy." He chuckled.

I nodded with a smile. "How'd you get to be so smart, Hiccup?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Dad says I always got it from Mom."

The statement didn't seem to affect him the way it did me. I was brought back to the reason I was even awake right now. My face lowered and occupied myself with watching Toothless, who was sound asleep.

"Hiccup…I think our Mom was in my dream" I said quietly.

Hiccup had been organizing his blueprints when I spoke. He looked up and scrunched his eyebrows. I could tell I had his full attention now.

"I think it was the night we were taken. There was this dragon and it was staring right at us. Mom was holding me and I could hear you crying. But the dragon wasn't looking at her like it wanted to attack her. Hiccup…it was looking at her like the way Toothless looks at you, or Nova looks at me."

Hiccup looked over at Toothless like he was contemplating something. He looked back at me seconds later.

"What else happened?" He looked like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. Looking back to Toothless, I began retelling the story.

"I looked up and I saw her. It…it was blurry but I saw her eyes. They looked like the shallows of the ocean on a sunny day. When I looked back at the dragon…it had the same exact expression. And then someone threw an axe between us and the dragon. It didn't help matters because then he set everything on fire. I heard shouting and crying, and the last thing I heard before I woke up was someone saying her name."

I brought my eyes back to Hiccup's downturned ones.

"Dad." He said softly. I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Hiccup…the way that dragon was looking at her…it didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her. Could…could she be alive?" I asked hopefully. I saw him turn his eyes to the ground.

"I'd like to believe she is, Erin. But if she was…she would've come back right?" The sadness in his eyes was unbearable, and I knew that he was also thinking of our father.

Any hope I had quickly faded. I thought of how lonely our father must've been all these years. Hiccup's logic was sound. If our mother had survived, she would've come back.

But I still couldn't shake the feeling away that she was still alive. That dragon was looking at her like it respected her. It was the respect that could be seen in every dragon's eyes on Berk. They loved their owners, their friends, and we respected them as much as they respected us.

I reached up to finger my locket, which I often did when I was feeling overwhelmed or irritated. Taking a deep breath, I reached behind my neck and undid the clasp. After looking at it constantly, I figured that the letters could stand for our initials. I figured it was time I told someone about it.

When I held the small gold heart in the palm of my hand, I saw Hiccup's eyes flicker from the ground to look curiously at it.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, perplexed.

"Do you remember that day we went cliff diving?" He looked up to meet my eyes and he nodded.

"I found it underwater. That's why I was under for so long. But there's something else."

Holding the locket between my fingers, I gently pried it open to reveal its contents. The lullaby I'd listened to so many times by myself flitted through the air between Hiccup and I. As the song played out, I watched Hiccup's expression go from confusion to astonishment.

"I've heard this before…I just…don't know when." I could practically see the gears in his head turning trying to remember the song.

"There's one more thing. Look at this." I brought the locket a little closer to him, pointing to the side of the locket with the _H_ and the _I_.

"It can't be just a coincidence, Hiccup. We both know the song and it has our initials." He looked up at me with knitted eyebrows.

"Do you think it could've been our mother's?" He asked, he was still in awe as he listened to the rest of the melody. At the end, I gently closed the locket and placed it around my neck once more.

"I think it's very possible. What other explanation could there be?" I asked, shaking my head slightly.

"I think we should ask Dad about it. If anyone would know, it'd be him." Hiccup stood about like he was ready to ask now. I grabbed his arm before he was able to start walking towards the door.

"We'll ask tomorrow. It's still the middle of the night you know." I told him teasingly.

With a smile, he rubbed the back of his head and sat down.

"I guess you're right. Now might be a good time to get some shut-eye." He chuckled. I nodded and stood up from my place on the edge of his bed.

"Goodnight…and hey. I want one of those once you figure it out." I nodded towards his blueprints. He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Of course you do." He said sarcastically. I laughed and walked back into the hall. Closing the door behind me, I made my way back to my room.

After walking in and closing the door, I saw Nova pick her head up from her spot across the room. I smiled at her tiredly and made my way back to my bed.

I climbed in and settled among the sheets. After taking a few deep breaths, I felt my eyes grow heavy and I soon drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized drowsily that I hadn't had any dreams. I wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing.

My room was glowing from the early morning sunlight filtering in through my window. When I looked around my room, I saw that Nova wasn't there. I figured she must've gone down with Hiccup whenever he and Toothless decided to get up.

It took a few minutes for me to stretch and throw on some decent clothes before finding my way downstairs.

From the top of the stairs I could hear voices. I wondered if Hiccup had already asked our father about the necklace.

I saw my father look up as I made my way down the step. A smile took over his features.

"Good morning my dear. Did you sleep well?"

I smiled at him and Hiccup.

"Yes I did. How did you both sleep?"

My father smiled again. "I slept like Grump usually does."

I laughed at that. Grump was Gobber's dragon and he was nothing if not lazy. Speaking of dragons, I noticed that Nova and Toothless were nowhere to be found.

"I've had better nights." Hiccup said a little groggily, bringing me from my thoughts. I surmised he probably didn't go to bed right away last night.

Taking my seat next to Hiccup at the table, I noticed that my father seemed to be in his usual mood. I figured that Hiccup hadn't asked him yet. There was food already at my seat and I immediately began to eat.

"So, Irina…" My father started. Since I'd found Berk, he'd had trouble calling me Erin. I'd told him that he should call me by my real name. He was the only person who called me that.

"Yes, Dad?" I looked up from my food to see his eyebrow slightly raised and his eyes looking from me to Hiccup.

"Hiccup says that you have something to ask me." Hiccup looked at both of us with a small smile.

I nodded with a miniscule smile and stood up from my seat. I walked over to my father on the other end of the table and undid my necklace. I held out in front of him, dangling it by the chain.

"I found this when we went cliff diving…" I said softly, my father threw a suspicious look at Hiccup and I realized that cliff diving wasn't on his list of approved activities.

Hiccup shrunk a little bit in his chair and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

When my father took a closer look at the necklace, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Unbelievable. You found this?" I nodded and handed him the necklace. He gently pried the locket open and we heard the melody of its song once again. My father closed his eyes as he listened and a sad smile pulled at his mouth.

"This necklace was your mother's. After the both of you were born, I had one made for her and the other for me. She lost hers one day in the ocean, so I gave her mine to wear after that. If you haven't already guessed, the letters on the inside are your initials." He ran his thumb over the engraved letters. I realized that she must've been wearing Dad's necklace the night we were taken.

"Dad, how do we both remember the song? What is it?" Hiccup asked.

He smiled another empty smile.

"It was our song. They played it for us at our wedding. But she used to sing the both of you to sleep when you were still newborns. That's probably why you remember the melody." He said softly.

I felt my heart clench as this sunk in. Even though I only remembered the slightest bit of her voice, and maybe the color of her eyes, I couldn't help but miss her. I missed the smiles I couldn't recall. I missed moments that never even happened. Hiccup and I taking our first steps, saying our first words. I missed her tucking us into bed and singing us to sleep. More than anything in this entire world, I wanted to know her.

A tiny tear ran down my cheek and I hastily wiped it away with the back of my hand. My father handed me back the necklace and I put it back around my neck.

"Your mother was a wonderful woman. I miss her every minute of every day. The both of you…you would've loved her. Now that I think about it, you two have more in common with her than you do me. She believed that peace could be brokered between the Vikings and the dragons." He looked at Hiccup and I recalled his story of not being able to kill Toothless like a 'true Viking' would've.

"Of course, it only made matters worse when that dragon took both of you from us. I searched for weeks on end but found nothing." He reached out to grasp my hand.

"But thank the gods that you've returned to us." He squeezed my hand and I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug.

"I'm glad I'm home." I said quietly. Releasing my father from my hug, I looked towards Hiccup.

"Make sure to keep that safe. It's might not be the best thing I could give you of your mother's, but it is a piece of her." My father said. I nodded and smiled.

"Well on that note, I think Nova and I need a little quality time in the air. Do you have any clue where I can find her, Hiccup?" I asked, laughing. Hiccup still looked half asleep but he nodded.

"She and Toothless followed Destin to the workshop earlier this morning." He said, nodding towards the front door of our home.

With a smile of gratitude, I said my farewells and headed out the door towards the workshop.

**Sorry it took me so long to update guys…I downloaded Windows 10 and I got a nasty virus on my computer. That'll teach me not to download stuff right away. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**


End file.
